Living in the Past: Book 1 - Ripples in the Water
by Lezg33k
Summary: Sarah, a descendant of Xena, lives in present day America with her Great Aunt Janice. She has spent most of her twenty-two years in pursuit of completing their collection of The Xena Scrolls. On her latest excursion she finds the last of Gabrielle's scrolls detailing the events in Japa, and a magical stone that could possibly take her back in time to stop those very events.
1. Chapter 1

Copyright Disclaimer: Any and all characters referenced from the Xenaverse belong to Renaissaince Pictures and their respective parties. I don't own the characters otherwise we'd already have a movie and the series would have never ended the way it did.

Sex, Violence, Language Warning: They will all be present and they will probably be graphic. In specific reference to the sex portion of the warning I will say that any descriptive sexual text will be centered on that of the lesbian variety. If you like it, great. If you don't, I don't want to hear about it.

Spoiler Warning: Post Friend in Need.

Feedback: It would be super sweet if I got some.

A Little Explanation: This fic does exist within the Xenaverse and characters from the show will play a large part, but in essence it is a spin-off centering around a main character called Sarah. I actually started writing it years ago when I was in college and am thinking about finishing it. I wanted to house it here so I'd have a place to send people who wanted updates. I hope you enjoy it!

Living in the Past: Book 1-Ripples in the Water

By LezG33k

Chapter 1

The Little Green Stone

Modern Day Greece

Deep within the forest that once played home to the Ancient Greek Amazons, the sound of foot falls could be heard as Sarah led her small contingency to what she hoped would be their next archaeological find. Sarah was extremely young to be leading anyone around. At twenty-two she had only just graduated college a few months prior to the excursion she was on now. She had her great Aunts to thank for the means to take on this search. Janice Covington and Mel Pappas were two of the most groundbreaking experts in their field. Because of their research into the Xena Scrolls, certain solid facts about history were being questioned. Money poured in whenever they were willing to set up any kind of dig, and now that neither Mel or Janice were staking out themselves, the job fell to Sarah who was more than happy to take over. Sarah's youth gave her an edge that Mel and Janice had long lost due to their responsibility to each other. For Sarah, retrieving the scrolls was the most important objective, and at many times putting her life in danger was simply an acceptable risk.

She wiped sweat from the back of her neck with her handkerchief and silently praised the fact that she'd decided to bring along her denim jacket instead of the heavy leather one. The fedora she wore kept most of the sun out of her eyes, but she still removed it every now and then to let some heat rise from her light brown hair. She was loathing the medium length of her hair right now. It was just long enough to add more heat to the back of her neck, but too short to pull back out of the way. She was surprised no one had started to complain. The two native boys she hired were carrying all the gear and yet they were silent as she and her partner Jake continued to search for one specific cave. It must have seemed comical to the two Greeks to see this girl in charge not only of them, but her stalky six foot tall American companion as well.

The cave they were looking for would most likely look like all the other caves they had searched through in the last week, which is what made it so hard to find. With so very little information known about the Amazons it was possible that the group was not even in the right part of the forest. Whether or not the entrance they were approaching now would lead them to the next Xena scroll was pretty much a crap shoot. But with twelve other caves behind them, numbers were becoming more and more on their side. She adjusted her Aunt's hat on her head and looked the entrance up and down. Sweat was rolling into her cool blue eyes and she was growing tired of exploring caves that led them nowhere.

"I think this is the one." She said to Jake. Sarah was lucky in the sense that her right hand man was not only one of the most promising up and coming archaeologists in the field, but also her best friend.

"Yeah, I can see where you would think that since it only looks like every cave we've come across in the last week." His wit usually served to lighten her mood, but right now it was an irritation.

"Come on, just humor me for this one and then we'll break for lunch." She shot back with a hint of fatigue in her voice.

"Fine, but if you're wrong I get dibs on all the ham sandwiches and you get the goat cheese." He countered with a smirk, knowing that the ham sandwiches were his anyway considering the fact that Sarah hadn't eaten meat in the last five years.

"Deal." She said as they broke out their flashlights and ventured inside.

They surveyed the walls first, looking for any kind of crack or crevice that could indicate a door. The two local boys just paced around waiting for them to finish up; they were both hungry.

"Find anything?" Sarah asked.

Jake chuckled, "Yeah, I did. I just decided not to tell you about it."

She rolled her eyes and continued to search. After a couple of minutes she heard a grunt come from one of the boys followed by the crash of their back pack. She turned and noticed that he had fallen on the ground, and went to see if he was injured.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked as he was picking himself up.

"Yes miss, I'm sorry, I tripped on something." He said.

She looked around on the ground and found the cause of the problem to be what looked like the vine of a tree coming from the ground. It seemed rather strange though, considering there were no trees in here. Upon further inspection she noticed that the "vine" was metal. She tried lifting it and felt a little give, but could not pull up much farther.

"Jake, come over here." She said as she began to dig through the dirt covering the metal, as Jake arrived to help her out. Once all of the dirt was gone they realized that the metal piece was a handle to a hatch that was held together by locked chains.

"You are so lucky I subscribe to a cruelty free diet, otherwise your ass would be eating goat cheese, my friend." She said as she reached into one of their packs looking for a pick axe.

"This could be anything; the locals could have used it for an armory or a fallout shelter." He said skeptically.

Sarah took out a large dusting brush and swept the dirt from the top of the panel, revealing a statement in ancient Greek lettering.

"May this sacred place only be entered by those of Amazon blood." She read. "Still think it's a fallout shelter?"

"Well then why was it so easy to find?" He asked.

"You call traipsing around these jungles for a week easy? The hard part was looking through cave after cave of nothing but bat shit and animal carcasses." She said as she swung the pick axe down on the lock; after a several solid swings the lock was breached. After opening the hatch Sarah swiftly removed her pack and shone a flashlight in the dark entrance.

"Give me a lantern; I don't trust batteries in dark, creepy passages." She said to one of the boys. She hooked the lantern on her arm and climbed down the old rickety rope ladder. Once on the ground she held up her arms for her pack; Jake tossed it to her before following suit down the ladder.

"Aren't you worried about that warning on the hatch door?" He asked, knowing her skepticism would paint her answer with sarcasm.

"Curses only work if you give credence to them. It's about the person, not magic." She said as she lit the lantern and started surveying the area.

The small corridor was dark and had a musty scent. Just a few feet in front of them stood an altar of some sort. It was almost phallic in shape, which made Sarah smile at the irony. A few yards beyond that lay a split in the corridor.

"So, you take right, I'll take left?" Jake said as he started moving forward.

"Whoa, whoa!" Sarah said, stopping him abruptly.

"Whoa, what?" He asked in confusion.

"That altar is there for a reason; it's not like it's roping off anything." She looked around and spotted a rock about the size of her fist on the ground and threw it past the marker. As soon as the rock touched the ground a healthy amount of darts shot out from the left side of the wall.

"Not a curse, huh?" Jake asked cynically.

"It's a floor trap, moron. If any pressure is applied to the floor the same thing is going to happen. But there's gotta be a way to disarm it." She said as she looked closer.

Sarah walked up to the altar and examined it more closely. There was an inscription at the base, and what looked like a button at the very top of the structure.

"What's it say?" Jake asked.

"Same thing as the entrance hatch." Sarah answered as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm guessing that to pass through without being harmed you have to prove you're of Amazon blood."

"Ha ha; you've got to bleed on that top part, otherwise we can't get in." Jake said in jest.

"Yeah right. The Amazons may have set up the darts, but there's no way this thing knows the difference between water and blood." She said while opening her canteen and turning it upside down over the top of the cylinder. They waited a second and nothing happened.

"Still so sure about that curse?" Jake asked.

"Maybe nothing's supposed to happen." She said.

"Well if you're so sure, why don't you take a stroll down the hall?" He said with a grin, knowing she wouldn't do it. Sarah's pride only went so far; it almost never asserted itself over her intelligence.

"Fine." She said and started walking right past the column. With one foot raised over the invisible threshold she thought for a second and then pulled back.

"Proving you wrong just isn't worth risking my life." She said while walking back and grabbing a rock. "Besides, I do it so often you must have a complex by now, and I wouldn't want to completely ruin your self confidence."

"Right" He said before she tossed the rock and barbs shot out again.

"Shit!" Sarah exclaimed at the unfortunate luck they were having. Jake just chuckled; he knew he didn't have to say a word.

"There is no fucking way that this piece of stone is going to keep me from going in this cave." She said before she started applying her body weight to the stone's top. Still nothing happened.

"I'm telling you, that thing specifically said Amazon blood. Not heritage, not origin; blood. And I certainly ain't one of them." He patted her back. "Look, you truly believe that your Aunt Janice is a descendant of Gabrielle and Gabrielle was an Amazon. So, however thinned out it may be now, you have Amazon blood, too."

The girl sighed in defeat. Whether or not it was the most plausible course of action, it did seem like the only one available. With a growl Sarah unsheathed her knife from the holster under her jacket and walked toward the stone structure. With her free hand she located the Zippo in her pocket and pulled it out for sterilization. Sarah looked from the blade to her hand and inwardly cringed.

"How much blood do you think it needs? Do you think maybe a finger prick will do the job?" She asked Jake with trepidation.

"Nah, it looks like more than that. Just do like the guys in the movies: cut your palm and squeeze." He said as he rummaged through his pack for the first aid kit.

"Oh Jesus Christ, this is stupid." She said to herself before placing the blade against her open palm. Sarah then closed her eyes, took a big breath and swiftly dragged the knife against her skin. "Aaahhhhaaaaaa, fuck!" She shrieked as blood started escaping from the wound. During the process she had pulled away from the pedestal and she felt Jake moving her hand over the top of it.

"Hey, don't waste your blood. Hold it right there and squeeze a little bit. I've got the bandages ready."

She breathed hard as the blood pooled over the stone, the pain was so overpowering she didn't notice the center of the pedestal lowering. Jake pulled her back and quickly started to clean the wound.

"Owww, easy with the alcohol." She whined.

"Oh, will you get over it; it's barely a flesh wound." He teased.

"Says Monty Python." She quipped.

Jake quickly finished wrapping the bandage up so they could go see what was going on with the trap. Upon approaching it they noticed that the very top part that looked like a button had sunk in, but it was slowly moving back up.

"Oh shit, you don't think it's on a timer do you?" He asked as Sarah went to retrieve a rock. She swiftly tossed it on the ground in front of them and nothing happened with the darts. She moved back to the pedestal and made a decision to run for it. Just as she lurched forward Jake stopped her with his hand.

"Are you crazy? Even if you make it to the split you won't have a way out." He said quickly.

Pulling away from him she said, "I know, that's why you're going to stay behind. Don't argue with me, I don't have much time." And with that she ran quickly down the corridor. Feeling light headed from the loss of blood wasn't helping her, but Sarah figured she still had enough time if she sprinted. Jake's entire body tensed as his eyes went from the cylinder to his friend. When the button finally popped back up he screamed for Sarah. Her foot hit the ground for the last time after the timer went off, which sent the darts flying. Luckily she moved out of the way before any of them hit her. After stopping she turned around to address Jake.

"Hey, I'm ok. They didn't get me." She said.

"Oh good, exactly what do you plan on doing now?" He said, angry.

"There has to be another way out of here. Turn on your radio and wait outside the cave, I'll keep in contact and if anything happens, send for help. Can you do that?" She asked.

"You can't just go in there by yourself, what…" He said before she cut him off.

"Look I've already made the decision and it isn't as if I can go back now. Just do what I said." She yelled.

"Fine!" He said with frustration as he climbed out of the cave. "Walkie check." He said into the radio.

"I hear you loud and clear." Sarah said back.

The two boys were a little confused to see just one person come out of the ground and the question showed in their eyes.

"Women." Jake said in answer. "Don't ever let them get the upper hand, cuz they'll steal your piece of the action."

Sarah was not exactly sure how great of an idea it was to do this on her own, but she wasn't about to let Jake know that either. After an exasperated sigh she held up the lantern and read the inscription above each path. The left side said "For those who would know the past", and the right said" For those who would see the past".

"What? Why do these things always have to be so cryptic?" She asked herself, before pulling a coin out of her pocket. It was her lucky Susan B. Anthony. She kissed it before flipping it in the air, calling heads left and tails right. After it fell back down she caught it and opened her hand.

"Guess, I'm gonna know the past."

The dark corridor was filled with Amazonian symbols paying tribute to Queen Gabrielle. The art work was a welcome sight to Sarah and it calmed her a little, however, the insects that had found solace in the cave did not give her comfort, so she hurried up the path. The ground seemed to incline as she progressed, and after walking for a few minutes she finally saw an opening at the end of the tunnel. The opening led her into a small rounded chamber. Once inside, she saw a chest at the very back of the room. It was locked, but that would not be an issue. Sarah could slip into Fort Knox if she really wanted to, a two-thousand year old lock would pose no problem at all. She retrieved her picks from her cargo pocket and started working at her obstacle. Jake decided to check in on her at that moment.

"Sarah, you doing ok?" He said over the walkie.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I found the scrolls, I just have to pick open the chest then I'll find a way out." She answered back.

"Did you go down both paths?" He asked.

"No, but there's definitely something down the other one. If this chest doesn't hold the scrolls I'll head down that way. Over and out." She said

After working at the lock for a minute or so the top part easily separated from the bottom. Sarah lifted open the chest and beheld about twenty different scrolls.

"Jackpot." She said, and started packing them in her bag. As soon as the chest was empty light poured in from the ceiling and a ladder fell down for her escape. She smiled and went over to investigate. This exit must lead to the other side of the cave. But what about the right hand fork? She weighed her chances carefully, and decided to head back down the path. As soon as she set foot out of the room she heard a crumbling noise coming from behind her. As she turned to see what it was the crumbling became even louder followed by a hissing sound. Water was pushing through the rock somehow, and soon it would fill the entire cave. Sarah started sprinting to the other side right before she heard the bottom fall out. Water started slowly cascading towards her, but soon it was at her knees. By the time she made it down the other corridor it was at her waist.

She scanned the room and found it to be just like the other side; so, in theory, all she had to do was open the chest and an escape hatch would appear. She fumbled in her pocket for the picks and a flashlight then started on the lock. The water had risen to her chest now and she couldn't see anything because the lantern had gone out. Taking a breath, Sarah went under the water for a closer look at what she was doing. It was much harder to pick the lock when she couldn't hear what was going on inside it. She put her head closer to the metal and tried to work like that. Finally the top popped loose and she quickly opened the chest. Inside was a huge green stone. Sarah had no idea what it was, but decided that there would be time to think about that later. She secured it in her jacket and resurfaced. The water was almost to the ceiling now, and there was no sign of a ladder or an opening.

"Shit!" She swore while looking at the ceiling for any variation in the rock. She saw what looked like a large patch of mud and started digging at it with her bare hands. It fell away pretty quickly and then there was metal. The water had almost completely filled the room. Sarah scrambled to find the ladder so she could use it for leverage. After pulling it down she inverted her body while holding the ladder and started kicking the door. After a few kicks she was getting tired and out of breath. Luckily it angered her and added force to her kicks and finally she managed to force open the door. She pulled herself back into an upright position and made her way through the exit.

Gasping for air she rolled off the side of the cave and onto the ground. She patted her jacket pocket to ensure the stone was still there and was happy to feel the new lump. The scrolls she knew were safe. She learned the hard way to line her backpack with plastic in case of unforeseeable events involving water. Eating soggy sandwiches for a week will make anyone precautious. She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief before heading back to the others.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jake asked when he saw Sarah approach them soaked to the bone.

"Apparently the Amazons felt that the person who entered the cave should only go down one path. I sure showed them. Hey boys, why don't you set up camp? We're going to need plenty of time to celebrate before we head back to town tomorrow." She said with a smile while she sat down on a near by rock and took off her boots.

"So what did you find?" Jake asked.

"Well in the first chest I found the scrolls, but in the second chest there was this rock." She said pulling the green stone from her jacket pocket. "I'm not really sure what it is; maybe a sacred stone of the Amazons, possibly some treasure that they hid from invaders. You're the treasure hunter, what do you make of it?" She asked Jake, knowing that he had more knowledge of valuable materials.

He took the stone from her and examined it. Pulling out his spectroscope lens he took a look at the more elusive aspects of the rock.

"Well it's definitely not precious, and it's scratched all to hell." He continued to observe holding his specimen higher in the air. "It gives off some weird color patterns though. Maybe it's worth something." He said tossing it back to Sarah.

She caught it with ease and stared into the dark corners. She had not come across anything in previous scrolls about a sacred stone other than the Exion stone; but that was more likely a myth than actual fact. Maybe the answer was in the new scrolls. Sarah could not wait to find out. She walked over to where the camp was being set up and reached in one of the satchels for a bottle of wine and two cigars.

"Time to celebrate!" She said to Jake after handing him the cigar and uncorking the wine. She reached in her pocket for her Zippo, but remembered that it would not work as soon as it had been retrieved. Jake smiled and pulled out a book of matches to light the cigars. Sarah took a long drag of the sweet tobacco and let it back out. After taking a swig of the wine she offered the bottle to Jake. He shook his head and reached into his own sack, showing off a bottle of cheap tequila.

"I can't stand that crap you drink." He said with a smile.

"You just don't have refined taste." Sarah swished the merlot in her mouth and swallowed, welcoming the warm, cozy feeling that would soon set in.

The sun was just setting over the horizon and everyone in the camp was busy preparing for the night ahead. Once the fire was going and the meal had been eaten Sarah settled in and propped herself up against a rock and started scanning the scrolls for anything about the stone. Jake came over to see what she was doing and plopped down beside her; the half finished bottle of alcohol in hand.

"Whatcha doin? Reading already?" He slurred, and Sarah smiled at him.

"Nah, I'm just trying to see if I can find out anything about the rock. I'd like to know what it is, so I can tell Aunt Janice when we get back."

"Well, don't get your hopes up that it's worth anything. It didn't look special to me." He took another swig and scowled.

"Yeah, but you know that's not important to me. It's the history of the stone that I care about. You've got the whole Indiana Jones 'fortune and glory' thing. For me, it's all about the history. These are my ancestors; I want to know what they did with their lives."

"You're starting to sound like your Aunt now." He paused and changed voices to mimic Janice Covington, "Oh Sarah, don't you see how important this is. Xena and Gabrielle were heroes. We have to find everything ever written about them, your Aunt Mel would have wanted…" He stopped quickly with that last statement, cursing the alcohol for loosening his tongue. "I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't mean to…"

"It's ok, Jake." She said as she looked away from him into the fire.

Mel had died about a year ago, and both Sarah and Janice took things pretty hard. Janice and Mel had taken Sarah in when she was just a baby. Her mother, niece to the two archaeologists, died in child birth and no one really knew who the father was. Since it was impossible for Janice and Mel to have children of their own Sarah was like a gift from the gods to them. They told her stories of ancient Greece and the warrior woman who changed the world. Mel taught her how to read the old text and Janice taught her how to fight and ride horses. As time went by they took her on a couple of expeditions, that's how she met Jake. He was the son of one of the archaeologists on the digs. They had gotten in trouble many times for going into the sites to find the scrolls. Sarah knew Janice and Mel were getting older and less adept at escaping traps than she was, so on many occasions she leapt into the fray before either of them had the chance. It always garnered the same results; Janice would be furious and not speak to her for a couple of days, but Mel would soften up and together they would read the scrolls that had been secured on the trip. It took a while for Sarah to get used to traveling alone, but the present trip would be her second on her own and the homesick feeling of youth was mellowing under the satisfaction of independence.

Mel got sick right before Sarah's last was scheduled to leave. Janice was going to cancel it, but Mel insisted that someone go. They argued about it well into the night, before Sarah had enough. She stepped in the room and told them both that the obvious solution was for them to send her and Jake. They were going to end up doing the dangerous work anyway, so the decision was really already made. Janice did not even fight it. She knew how important those scrolls were to Mel, and she could not bear to leave her side. Janice took Sarah to the airport where they met up with Jake. She gave them a laundry list of things not to do, and of course they did every one of them. She told Jake to board the plane so that she could talk with Sarah in private. Once they were alone it was so hard for her to look into the young girls' deep blue eyes, they looked just like Mel's.

"You know the only reason you're going right now is because it means so much to Mel." She said to Sarah and received a nod in response. Now it was the young girl who could not meet Janice's eyes. The older woman knew it was because they were filling with tears, but she forced them to look at her anyway.

"Listen to me! Those scrolls have been our entire life's work, but they are nothing more than scraps of old dirty paper compared to you. You are going to Greece in one piece and you are going to come back to us that way. Mel would never forgive herself if something happened to you and I won't let her live whatever life she has left feeling that guilt." She wiped away the tears that were falling down the girls' cheeks then pulled back a little.

"Now," Janice said as she pulled her hat off her head and placed it on Sarah's. "This is my favorite hat. I've worn it on every expedition and I've returned with it every time. It will keep you safe, but you have to bring it back."

Sarah nodded then grabbed her Aunt in a fierce hug.

"I love you. I'll make you both proud of me when I come back." Grabbing her stuff she quickly went through the gate and wiped her tears away before boarding the plane. She knew she would make it back, she just hoped it would be in enough time for Mel. If only Sarah had that homecoming to look forward to this time around.

She was brought back from her reverie by Jake who was still trying to apologize to her about the slip. She decided to simply change the subject.

"Do you remember that last trip out to the temple of Aphrodite?" She asked.

Jake thought for a minute, then smiled. "How could I forget, you worked us so hard that I almost didn't sign on this time. I think the locals were plotting to kill you. And those scrolls; God, they were horrible."

"Yeah, I thought so, too. I mean, I know that a lot of the stuff Gabrielle wrote was beefed up a bit with fantasy, but I don't know what she was thinking with the whole Eve thing. I hated that little twerp." She said with a chuckle

"Yeah, me too. The scrolls totally weren't worth the crap we had to go through to get them." Jake slurred.

"Aunt Mel loved them. All she did once I got back was read. I sat with her most of the time, listening to her translate. Eve was the main reason she liked them. She loved the idea of Xena and Gabrielle having a child together; however annoying that child was." She joked.

Taking the last swig from her wine bottle she stood up to go to bed. She had one last thing to say before she retired to her sleeping bag.

"I think it was those scrolls that kept her going the last few days. She had to make sure that they were all going to be ok; even the twerp." The last words were said with her back to Jake. She entered her tent wearing a smile and a tear, then passed out on top of her sleeping bag..

The plane ride home was not the pleasant and rejuvenating experience that Sarah hoped it would be. That was mainly due to the fact that she ended up reading the last few scrolls. Sarah was one of those people who skipped to the end of the book to see what was going to happen. She hated the suspense of waiting, and sometimes that robbed her of the joy of the surprise. No, Sarah was right to the point about pretty much everything. So, as Jake snored softly in her ear she read the terrible tale of Xena's demise in Japa. How could this happen? How could she just walk away from Gabrielle like that? Anger and rage filled her as she tried to sit still in her chair. Xena died because she believed that the souls could not be at peace without the forfeit of her life. She did not fall in battle or ride off with her bard. She faded away without a fight because of some dogmatic myth.

Begrudgingly she picked up the last scroll, hoping that maybe there was at least something about the stone in it since there was obviously no hope for a happy ending. She was surprised when she found that it was not one of Gabrielle's stories, but a letter she had written to Xena. Sarah checked the dates one more time to make sure she had not ordered the scrolls wrong, but indeed it was written after Xena's death in Japa. Intrigued, she read on.

Xena,

I don't even know where to begin. I am a bard and it feels as if it is impossible to say what I need to with words. I guess it doesn't matter how I say any of this. I don't even know why I'm writing it, so I guess there's no need to be eloquent. Xena, Eve is dead. When I returned from Japa I went straight to Amphipolis to put your body to rest with your family. It was there that I was approached by a messenger from Chin. Eve was trying to stop a massive civil war in the country, but she was captured by the rebel army. They thought she was working with the Chin army, and that her pleas for peace were just a trick. They threatened to kill her if the Emperor's Army did not release the prisoners of war. I traveled as fast as I could to save her, but I was too late. She was killed days before I made it to Chin, her body impaled in some desolate courtyard for all to see. I fell to my knees and screamed for you, but you never came. Finally I took Eve's lifeless body from the spear just as some stragglers from the rebel army were passing through. They tried to stop me from taking her home and the rage in me was released. The first few I killed quickly, but as the reality of my world came crashing down I became less and less sympathetic. I left the last soldier there in excruciating pain, I don't know if he died before the vultures came.

I burned Eve's body just as I had burned yours. I thought about how I was too late again; about how I couldn't save either of you. But mostly I thought about the emptiness of my soul since you left me. Now that Eve is gone I have no one left in this world. It was then that Ares came to me. I expected him to kill me then and there; angered by the failure that outlived his two best warriors. But he didn't do that. Instead he offered me the chance to harness my pain, to unleash my fury. He told me he could relieve me of the need to feel your touch, and replace it with a lust for him. He told me that he wanted me, and that unlike you he would never leave me behind for someone from the past. It was that line that almost got me. The agony of watching you leave me so many times for someone else was a memory that never left me. I almost took his outstretched hand, the pull was so powerful. Instead I reached down for the sai in my boot and shoved it through the offered appendage. Even in death I could never leave you, and I hoped my refusal would force his wrath to send me to you. His anger was fierce, but not fierce enough. He beat me to a pulp and screamed at me to fight back, but I wouldn't. I had given up.

It was my pacifism that ultimately saved my life. He wouldn't give me the peace I desired, and with a bolt of lightning he was gone. I guess it's better this way. I'm here now, in Amphipolis. I put Eve's ashes right next to yours, and now I hope the God of Eli will forgive me for joining you both.

I love you Xena, and no matter where you leave me, I will follow you.

All my heart,

Gabrielle

"Goddamn it!" Sarah swore loudly. She heard a plethora of gasps at her outbursts. A few of the parents on the plane covered the ears of their children and shot daggers her way.

"Sorry." She said as she shrunk down into her seat. The stewardess came by and asked if she needed anything and was answered with a request for the strongest drink on the plane. Jake awoke from the commotion and asked Sarah what was going on.

"You remember how pissed you were about putting in so much effort last time to retrieve some shitty scrolls?" She said as she accepted her drink.

"Yeah." Jake replied in an all too knowing tone.

"Well the bad news is that you're going to be even more pissed off this time." She took a draught from the glass and squinted her eyes at the burning liquid. "The good news is that you don't ever have to worry about it happening again." Before he had a chance to stop her, Sarah let the rest out.

"Gabrielle and Xena are dead, these were the last scrolls left to find."

Jake was silent for a minute, and then chastised Sarah for ruining the ending before he had a chance to hear about it in full detail. They argued for a few minutes about her compulsive blabbering problem when it came to surprises, then quit when they started to rehash the "Sixth Sense fight", knowing the language that followed that one was not suitable for the plane. Jake turned towards the window and drifted back to sleep.

Sarah just sat there with her head in her hand.

How am I supposed to show this to Aunt Janice?

Janice Covington rocked softly in her chair on the front porch, with a cup of coffee in hand. Sarah would be arriving any minute now with the new scrolls, and she did not know if it was the girl or the parchment she was more excited about seeing. She was not used to waiting around for the finds, but her age was catching up with her. Honestly, since Mel passed on she didn't have the heart to make the trips anymore. But the excitement was still there. Her great niece had already informed her of the green stone found in the tomb and she had been combing through their archives for some clue as to what it was. Sarah seemed to think that maybe it was the fabled Exion stone, but Janice had another theory. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the horn on Jake's Jeep. He and Sarah both were yelling and waving out the window, welcoming themselves back.

Janice stood and made her way down the stairs and got the wind knocked out of her when the girl met her in a hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you, sweetie. I missed you so much." The older woman said as she pulled out of the hug to take a better look at the girl.

"Well you look like you're all in one piece. Jake, did she behave herself?"

"Only when she was in the cave; the rest of the time she was a regular party animal."

"Whatever." Sarah said as she lightly slapped him with her left hand. Unfortunately Janice noticed the bandage and quickly grabbed at the appendage to examine the wound.

"Now, before you freak out let me just say that it's not that bad, and I did it on purpose." She said, preparing for the chastisement.

"You did it on purpose? What happened, did you get bored and decide to take a stab at self mutilation?" The older woman asked.

"No, nothing like that." She said, leading everyone inside. "There was this weird lock in the cave that required the spilling of Amazon blood. I'm still not sure how they rigged it, but I had to bleed a little to get the damn thing open."

They made their way into the study and Sarah started laying out the scrolls. Janice decided Sarah's cut was small enough not to give her a hard time. Instead, she asked about the stone she had been researching the past few days. Sarah retrieved it from her locked briefcase and handed it to her great Aunt.

"Jake's already taken a look at it, and he's fairly certain it's not worth much." Sarah said and then questioned her Aunt. "So I'm guessing that you didn't find anything about it in the scroll archives, right?"

"Actually, I have an idea about that, but I didn't get it from the Xena scrolls. Now that I've seen it I'm almost positive that it isn't the Exion stone, but it may hold some other importance to the time." She stared deep into the stone and her stomach fluttered at the idea that her research was correct. "Let's not worry about it now; you two have come a long way. We'll have dinner and discuss the findings tomorrow after I've had a chance to look over the new scrolls."

"Sounds good to me, I haven't had a decent meal since before we left the states. Sarah can't cook for shit." Jake said, only half joking.

"Oh, believe me I know, she tried to cook me a birthday dinner one time and I couldn't even sneak pieces to the dog." Janice said with a wry grin.

Sarah was going to reply, but she had been stuck eating her own cooking and knew she didn't have a leg to stand on.

After sleeping till noon the next day, Sarah was awakened by a very rambunctious old woman. Janice was nearly bouncing on the bed, yelling something about "finding the stone". Still groggy from sleep, she followed her into the study where there were books and scrolls everywhere.

"Jesus, this place is a mess! Have you been working in here all night?" Sarah asked.

Janice completely ignored the question and went straight into the details of her night's work.

"I had this theory about the stone, but I couldn't quite be sure until I saw it. You see, there was always this gap between the scrolls in their third year together and that gap also shows up with Hercules and Iolas. Then I put two and two together and got the answer. This worthless rock you found is actually the chronos stone." She said with a smile.

Sarah furrowed her brow and scratched her head as she tried to understand exactly what Janice was saying. She figured the first step was to remember what history had said about the chronostone.

"Ok, let's back up a bit." She said as she started to pace. "The chronos stone was the one that Calisto used to go back in time and kill Hercules. It has the power to send someone to the past and then back to the present. The original chronostone was destroyed in an unfortunate accident involving a wagon. The alternate chronostone was destroyed in the explosion at Alcamede's farm. So there was another stone hidden somewhere?"

"No, that's the thing. Hercules and Iolas knew that the world was better off believing that the stone was destroyed, but it was far too important to actually get rid of it." Janice continued to answer. "So, when they told people the story they changed it up a little at the end. The stone never was destroyed in the blast. Iolas had it the entire time, and once everything settled down a bit he took off on a mission to entrust it to Xena. He knew she would find a safe place for it."

"And Gabrielle simply refused to write about it?" Sarah asked, skepticism evident in her tone.

"Well that part is unclear. You see, I suspect that Xena met with Iolas right around the time that Gabrielle visited the temple of Mnemosyne. She made up some mission to tell Gabrielle about so that no one could ever force an answer out of the bard if the stone was found out. And the timing fits perfectly because Xena was gone for approximately the same number of days it would take to reach the Amazons and entrust them with the stone." She moved to grab one of her books, then readdressed Sarah.

"And look at this," She said pointing to an old drawing "This is an ancient drawing of the chronostone in a scepter. It's identical to the stone we now have."

Sarah studied the book, amazed at the resemblance. How awesome would it be to actually have found the chronos stone? It would be like the crusaders actually finding the Holy Grail.

"This is remarkable, Aunt Janice. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I. I mean can you imagine that in this very room we have a device that can transcend the fabric of time?" The older woman said with excitement.

"You mean a device that is fabled to transcend the fabric of time." She said and then looked toward Janice who seemed less than happy with that assertion. "That is what you mean right?"

"How can you always be so skeptical of the truth in the Xena scrolls? I've told you my own account of what happened in the tomb of Ares. Things that are impossible, but yet still happened. Don't you believe me?" She asked, disapprovingly.

"Calm down Aunt Jan, of course I believe you. There are just certain things that could have happened to have caused all of that. You could have been hallucinating due to bad food or poor ventilation. But you can't honestly tell me that you think that this rock can take you back in time." She waited for a reply from the older woman, but only received a stern look of aggravation. "Can you?"

"Sarah, I want you to think back to when you were a child. You were so young and full of wonder at the world that you believed every story told to you. Including the ones about Xena." She paused as Sarah attempted to humor her request by closing her eyes.

"Just imagine that you had the chance to go back and meet them. To change the fate that befell them in those last few scrolls. You could set things right; save Xena, Gabrielle and Eve. Wouldn't the mere possibility be enough to make you pour what's left of your hope into this opportunity?"

Sarah opened her eyes and automatically went on the defensive.

"You make me sound like the most cynical 22 year old alive."

"You are the most cynical 22 year old alive. I don't even know why you bother looking for the scrolls if you don't believe in them." She said with dismay.

"I bother because it means so much to you and..." She noticed the slip and tried to recover " ...and to me. Those scrolls have been my life since I was a little girl. Just because I don't believe in time travel doesn't mean that I haven't devoted myself to this mission."

Janice could see that the girl was hurt by her last comment. She knew that Sarah had lost her wonder at the world after Mel died. Her niece didn't think she knew it, but Janice found out that on the trip out for the fifth set of scrolls Sarah took a detour and pushed the team extra hard in an attempt to find the fabled ambrosia. Jake had told Janice they searched cave after cave in the Greek countryside and found nothing. Sarah wouldn't sleep; she would just look for whatever clue the scrolls held that would lead her to the fruit of the gods. Jake finally convinced her to come home, telling her that she was wasting time that Mel did not have, reminding her of how important the scrolls were to the dying woman. He said that he could almost see Sarah's belief fading from her eyes. A girl that once believed in the magic of the gods no longer believed in anything except the fact that someone she loved more than life was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. They came home the next day with the scrolls. And like Janice, Sarah didn't leave the house until the end.

"I'm sorry baby, c'mere." Janice said, internally scolding herself for the rash remark she'd made. Sarah begrudgingly moved in for the offered hug and then stepped back with a sigh. She sat down on the desk and grabbed the item of discussion.

"What exactly would you have me do if by some miracle we could use this?" She asked , examining the emerald depths of the stone.

"Well I'm sure that you've seen the last few scrolls and the unacceptable events that happened. I'm telling you I don't think those idiot television writers could have thought up a worse ending." That got a laugh out of Sarah, so Janice continued, glad that the tension was easing.

"This isn't the way things should have been. Xena and Gabrielle belonged together. They should have settled down and grown old; learned the joys of bickering and the comfort of stability. Eve should have had the chance to spread the message of Eli. I'm telling you we could have a whole other arc to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic story." She was interrupted at that juncture.

"Look pitching me the chance to save Eve is not the best way to earn my acceptance. She was annoying, hypocritical, and not to mention self righteous. That was probably the only part of the last scroll that I didn't cringe at."

"But Sarah don't you see. There is so much bloodshed between the different sects of those three religions. What if the teachings of Eli could bind them together? Wars that have been ongoing for thousands of years could be erased."

"Do you hear what you're saying? You're talking about changing huge events throughout history. War is a way of life for some of these people. We don't know what would happen if that were to change. Things could even be worse."

"But they could also be better." Janice proceeded. "Look you don't even believe in any of these religions, so wouldn't a world where they didn't cause so much loss be better? Innocent people wouldn't die for nothing."

"Now you're just catering to my agnostic side." She said with a half grin.

"Don't you want to see them? Don't you want to see the heroes you read about your whole life?"

Sarah smiled. "I have. I saw them every day."

Janice's eyes teared up. "Don't you want to save them? I know the pain Gabrielle went through, but I had so much more time with Mel. Don't you want to give them that?"

"Look, Aunt Janice, I know it sucks that things ended this way. It really does. But I gotta say that if by some miracle that stone could take people back in time there are a lot of other catastrophic events that I believe merit more of a chance to change than the death of Xena, Gabrielle and Eve." Sarah said as delicately as she could.

Janice thought for a second then piped back in.

"What about the fact that if this scroll tells the truth then there would have been no one left to carry on the blood line? Mel and I were descended from Xena and Gabrielle; they didn't leave behind any children, so my very existence could be hanging in the balance. Maybe that's why you found the stone. You were always supposed to find the stone so that you could save them all and Mel and I could be born."

"Now you're really reaching for a reason." Sarah said skeptically.

"Oh come on Sarah, what could it hurt, really? I'm an old woman who is only asking her most beloved great niece…" Janice said before being interrupted.

"Your only great niece." Sarah added.

"Ok, I'm asking my only niece to do this one thing that would make me so happy."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Sarah made a last ditch attempt to thwart Janice's verbal advances.

"How can you be so sure it will even work?" She asked. Sarah was willing to humor her Aunt by trying out the stone, but she was worried about the aftermath and Janice's disappointment.

"Because last night while you were asleep I tried it." Janice said with consternation awaiting Sarah's response.

The girl honestly didn't know how to respond. What does she mean she tried it? Has she gone insane? Is it Alzheimer's? God, what if she's losing her mind!

"What do you mean you tried it?" Sarah asked.

Janice was quiet for a few seconds as a small smile crossed her face. She then proceeded to pull out Sarah's digital camera. After pressing a few buttons she handed it to the girl who glanced at the image box then looked up stunned. It was a picture of Mel and Janice when they were much younger. It looked like they were on some kind of dig during the war. Sarah had seen many pictures of the women in these kinds of clothes, but they were all in black and white. To see the image on a digital screen and in color really threw her for a loop.

"How did you…" Sarah asked, breathlessly.

"How did I take it?" Janice finished for her. "I used the stone to go back to the day Mel and I first met." She moved closer and grabbed the camera again, smiling at the image. "This isn't the only one either. I took as many as I could without being noticed."

As Janice scrolled through the photos Sarah saw something change within the picture. Janice didn't seem to like Mel at first, but after a while she finally seemed to warm up to her. The young girl took the camera and began to move through the pictures herself. This just isn't possible. She thought. How did she do this? There is no way this is real. I'm dreaming; I must be. As if reading her thoughts Janice spoke up again.

"It's real, baby girl. I was there. I watched almost the entire day unfold just as it did decades ago. I met Mel in the shootout, I told her about my father, we got stuck in the cave; all of it. Then at the end we decided to stick together and we did right up until the day she died. And after I did all this I had weird memories of an old woman on that dig. It was like deja vu."

Sarah couldn't believe she was about to ask this question, because all logic dictated that they shouldn't even be having this discussion, but she couldn't help herself. She was starting to believe. "How did you make it work?"

"It's easy, I read about it in one of the ancient myths. All you have to do is think really hard about when and where you want to be. Then you do a little chant in Greek and somehow :poof: you're there. It should be easier for you. You're pronunciation is even better than mine." She said to her niece with a laugh.

Sarah just sat there with her head in one hand and the camera in the other.

"So, what do you think?" Janice asked, breaking the silence.

Sarah had to get out of the house for a while. She didn't know what to believe about the chronos stone, let alone whether or not she should change the past just because Janice wanted her to. She called Jake and together they headed to the gym. As they ran side by side on the treadmills she started to describe her dilemma in full detail.

"Bullshit." He said as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

'"Believe me Jake, that's all I could think too, but I'm telling you she had pictures from the past on my digital camera."

"Oh, man." he said with awe. "Did you kick her ass for taking your camera without permission?"

As he laughed she punched his arm.

"It's not funny, Jake. Try to remember who you're talking to. I'm probably the most skeptical person you know, yet I'm here telling you that I have a freakin' time machine in my house and my Aunt wants me to use it to change the past." She looked at his smirking face. "You still don't believe me do you?"

"Not for a second." He said. "But you really did sound convincing."

"Ugghh." She groaned in frustration. "Ok, let's just say that hypothetically I had a way to travel back in time and change the fate of Xena and Gabrielle. Is it right to just change what we don't like about the past?"

"You seriously want to have this conversation?" He asked.

"Jake, just answer the question." Sarah was getting frustrated.

"Geez, Ok. If you were to go back and change history so that Xena and Gabrielle lived you would somehow have to make sure that they didn't change any huge events for the rest of their lives. That's the only ethical thing to do, but it also seems impossible since Xena and Gabrielle were hell bent on changing the world for the better. As for Eve, I really don't think you have much to worry about there. Her message obviously wasn't being picked up too well because the only proof we have for the existence of the Elisians is Gabrielle's scrolls. She'd probably end up dead after a few more months on the road. Your Aunt is just going to have to deal with that one. It's not like you're going to go around protecting her while she tries to spread her message."

"God no, I'd rather commit suicide." Sarah interjected with a chuckle, and then let Jake continue.

"So basically you're talking about saving one person who's not really going to have any impact on the future, and two people who could be persuaded to settle down and forget about that whole 'saving the world' thing." He stopped for a second to take a swig of water, then continued. "If all that were actually possible then I would say, yes, go ahead with your little fantastic voyage if it means so much to Janice."

They ran in silence for a few minutes as Sarah mulled it all over. Finally she sighed, turned her machine off and headed toward the exit of the gym.

"Thanks, Jake." She said as she left him.

After a few seconds he called after her. "Wait a sec, were you for real?"

She said nothing more and simply made her exit.

By the time Sarah returned home and showered, it was late afternoon. She saw Janice sitting on the front porch smoking a cigar and decided to bring her a glass of sweet tea. The opening of the screen door alerted the older woman to her presence.

"Sweet tea?" Sarah asked handing over the glass.

"Don't suppose it's from Long Island is it?" Janice said jokingly.

Sarah just smirked and grabbed a cigar out of Janice's pouch before leaning against the balcony and lighting it.

"Smoking one of my stink sticks; what's the occasion?" Janice asked. It was rare for Sarah to stand still long enough to smoke a whole cigar.

"Well, I figure we're going to be out here for a while discussing exactly how I'm going to talk Xena and Gabrielle into doing something they won't want to do." She said, drawing the smoke into her mouth.

Janice's face lit up and she rose to stand in front of her niece.

"Does that mean you're going?" She asked.

Sarah smirked as she spit the loose tobacco from her mouth.

"Either I'm traveling to the past, or waking from a dream." The older woman hugged her fiercely and Sarah took in a deep breath before speaking again. "If everything gets all screwed up I'm blaming you."

Janice pulled away and said, "Now where is that self-assured arrogance with which you always take on a mission?"

"It ran screaming out the door right after I decided to infiltrate the space/time continuum and change the fate of the world."

"Well, you don't need it anyway. Most girls are turned off by arrogance." Janice said before drawing from her stogey. "Now let's plan out the past."

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Men Plan, God Laughs

Sarah drank liberally from her second glass of whiskey as she tried to take in all of the information of the past twenty-four hours. It was nearly midnight and Janice had turned in for the night after a long discussion about how exactly Sarah was to pull off this journey.

To achieve the desired result, Sarah would have to travel to not one, but two precise areas in the past. The first being the moments before Xena got totally wasted in Higuchi and burned down the town, and the second being the moments before Gabrielle is supposed to pour Xena's ashes into the spring on Mount Fuji. Janice explained that Xena's past actions were to blame for her inability to resurrect. In order to save everyone Sarah would have to convince Xena to put Akemi's ashes to rest before she drowned her sorrows inside the town. With a little luck Xena would simply have to endure the taunts of the townspeople and then sleep off her night of excess.

The second jump was simply a precautionary measure to make sure all had gone according to plan; this was more Sarah's idea. Because the young girl was prone to extreme disbelief in any religious superstition, Sarah figured that Xena was either being conned by Akemi or playing fool to some mythological presuppositions. She wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way of Xena's ashes being poured into that magical spring. Janice agreed with her logic as well. Why not double check your work when you've put so much effort into it?

So after hours of hashing out the details, they'd devised a plan to save the bard and warrior. Saving Eve was a little more of a challenge. Because so little is known about the events in China at the exact time of Eve's arrival, they couldn't establish any concrete plan. Janice had done some preliminary research on the ruling dynasty of the time: the Xin dynasty ruled by Wang Mang. They were later overthrown by a peasant rebellion lead by Liu Xiu; a liaison from the previous Han Dynasty. Trying to save Eve right in the middle of a civil war would be extremely difficult. Sarah's best bet would be to help Xena and Gabrielle get her out of there as quickly as possible in hopes of escaping open warfare between Mang and Liu.

Sarah had the feeling it would all be much easier said than done. Janice had even suggested that she simply give Xena and Gabrielle as much information as she could and let them sort out the whole mess with Eve, but Sarah wouldn't have it.

"If I'm going there to save all of them I'm going to make sure the job gets done." She had said earlier in the evening. And that was that. Tomorrow afternoon Sarah was going to activate the chronostone and travel through time. But first she had some personal business to take care of.

Sarah moved slowly through the house knowing that she was far from settling into her soft, warm bed. She roamed the halls of her home paying particular attention to the pictures that decorated the walls. Most of them were sweet captured moments of her Mel and Janice. Some of them were her school photos, and some were snapshots of recent digs. But the one that always made Sarah stop in her tracks was neither.

The image held within the frame displayed one of the happiest moments she never remembered: a young woman holding a newborn baby. The mother was beautiful, but pale and tired. She didn't even try to pay attention to the camera; all of her energy was placed upon the small, red faced child in her arms. She didn't know that mere moments after the flash went off, the baby would be taken safely into the nursery, not having any understanding of the loss she was to face. A small infection, unnoticed by doctors, would quickly begin to spiral out of control. Who knew whether Suzanne Papas felt any pain before she was taken from the world? Perhaps she was in such a deep sleep she felt nothing. At this point the details weren't important; at least not to Sarah.

She didn't plan to change her own past, but she did intend to see it. If that little green stone was actually a device that could allow her to see her mother, she was going to use it. Still not taking her eyes away from the picture, she reached into her pocket for the stone and began to recite the incantations. As the ancient Greek words slipped over her tongue she closed her eyes. It felt as if the room was getting smaller. She continued to repeat the chant eventhough she felt an enormous pressure bearing down on her. She was starting to quiver with fear, but she continued to recite the words. It was with the fifth refrain that everything crashed over her like a rogue wave. It felt as if her body was imploding from the center of her gut. She couldn't breathe, let alone speak as the feeling washed over her. Every muscle in her body tightened and she involuntarily moved into a fetal position in mid air.

Opening her eyes was a bad idea. She was floating in the deepest dark possible; so dark it was almost fluid in appearance. Sarah didn't know how that was possible and she didn't want to know. Closing her eyes, she continued to ride out the intensity of the experience. As soon as she wondered how long she had been floating, the feeling started to recede. The pressure slowly alleviated and she felt like she could breathe again. As the first deep breath entered her body she felt herself slipping from the grip of the darkness. Before she could even think of opening her eyes she was falling onto a cold, hard surface reeking of disinfectant.

It was almost ironic that there was a toilet sitting right in front of her because the only thing she could do at the time was empty the contents of her stomach. Tears leaked from her eyes as the strain of the dry heaving fell upon her, but it was soon over. Grabbing some tissue, she wiped her mouth and turned around to sit propped against the cold porcelain. Within seconds the silence was broken and Sarah realized where she was.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"Is someone there?"

Pause.

"Are you sick?"

Sarah couldn't breathe, let alone squeak out an answer. On the other side of that door was the one person she'd longed to meet for her entire life. _It's not supposed to be like this. _She thought. _I'm not supposed to wake her up. I was just going to come here, watch her sleep for a couple of minutes and then go home, but nooo, I had to get all exorcist in the bathroom. _

"I can call the nurse for you." The voice called again.

This brought Sarah out of her stupor.

"No!" She said, far too worriedly. In an effort to provide a less threatening answer she spoke again. "I mean, no, I don't need the nurse. I'm here visiting a friend and hospitals make me nervous. I got so sick that I just went in the first room I saw to use the bathroom. I'll be out in a minute and I'll leave you alone. Just let me clean up."

As she moved to the sink the voice called again.

"Take your time sweetie. It's going to be alright."

Sarah clutched at the sink as if somehow it could stop her throat from tightening and the tears from forming in her eyes. For the first time in her life her mother was comforting her, and using a term of endearment.

"Don't you dare break down now!" She said softly, but sharply into the mirror. "You're the one who decided to come here and you're the one who woke her up. Now you're going to walk through that door, apologize for waking her and not look like an absolute freak while doing it."

After splashing water on her face and drying it, Sarah turned to grasp the cold, smooth handle on the door. As she turned it everything seemed to move in slow motion. Every detail imprinted itself upon her memory. The click of the door as it opened, the sound her shoes made on the floor, and the cheap lighting that softly illuminated the room. Once she was finally clear of the bathroom she kept her eyes down, afraid now to even do what she had planned earlier in the evening. _Just get the words out and leave._

"I'm really sorry I woke you." She said, still averting her eyes as if simply looking upon her mother would turn her to stone. "I'm just gonna go, now."

She stepped quickly to the door, but was stopped just before she reached out for the handle.

"Wait." The woman said.

_Just leave, just leave, just leave! _The voice of reason in Sarah's head was wailing at her, but her feet wouldn't budge.

"You didn't really bother me." The woman's voice was taking on a welcoming note. "You see, I'm not really comfortable in hospitals either. I certainly don't like to be alone in them." She paused, but continued in a voice that was almost timid. "You could sit with me till you feel better."

As Sarah slowly turned to face the hospital bed she shut off any voice of reason that might have tried to halt her actions. She would be strong and comfort her mother, no matter what the consequence would be. Taking a deep breath she let her eyes slowly move up to reach the eyes staring hopefully back at her. They were brown; not the blue of her own, but warm and comforting all the same. Stepping closer she took in the rest of her features. Long dark hair framed a face that Sarah imagined was more pale than normal. A small welcoming smile started to turn up the corners of her mother's mouth. Sarah returned it in kind and moved to sit in the visitors chair next to the bed.

"My name is Suzanne, what's yours?" She asked.

_Oh shit, what do I say? I can't tell her my real name. Just spit something out or she's gonna think you're insane._

"Mavis." She blurted.

_Mavis? Oh that's real cool, dumbass._ She thought.

"Mavis, huh?" Suzanne said as a small smirk started appearing on her face.

"Yeah, I know it's really old school, but that's what I'm stuck with." She said, half to herself.

"No, no. It's cute." Suzanne said, trying to make her feel better. "It's a classic name. I've been thinking about names for the last few months. I just had a baby girl; that's why I'm in here, and for the life of me I could not settle on a name no matter how many baby books I read. When they asked me what I wanted to call her I finally took the two I liked best and flipped a coin." She laughed a little bit. "That's just silly, huh?"

"I don't think so." Sarah said softly. "I think it's one of those stories your daughter would like to hear when she's older."

"Sarah." The older woman said.

_Oh God, did I just give myself away. Does she know?_

"Excuse me?" Sarah stuttered.

"Sarah; that's her name. Do you like it?" Suzanne asked.

"Oh." Sarah paused. "Oh, yeah I do. I think it's a great name."

"Yeah, me too. She's so beautiful. They just took her out of here about an hour ago and I can't wait till I get to see her again. You know it's funny, but I feel like she's my best friend. We've done everything together for the past nine months. I think it's the longest stretch of time where no matter what happened I didn't feel alone."

Sarah was too touched to realize her defenses had let a small tear slip from her eye, but it didn't go unnoticed by Suzanne.

"Oh, sweetie are you ok?" She asked.

_Damn! _

"Um, yeah, sorry. It's nothing." She said wiping away the offending tear. "I just think that's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard a mother say about her child."

"Aw, I'm sure your mother feels the same way about you." Suzanne said.

"Yeah." Sarah said with a small pause. "I'll bet she does."

"Are you close with your mother?" Suzanne asked.

"I um…" She thought for a minute and then finally answered. "I love her very much."

"I'm going to do everything I can to be close to my daughter. I want to know every little thing about her as she grows up. You're probably going to think this is stupid, but I went to a psychic just a few weeks ago to get a reading for her. I'm not sure if it was the Gin talking or the extra ten bucks I handed her, but the lady said that my child would be special. She said that she was destined to do great things, but…" She paused and took a breath.

"But what?" Sarah asked with rapt attention.

"She said that it would all come with a price; that my daughter would lose a great many things that she treasured in order to do what she has to do."

Sarah was dumbfounded, but her wit pushed its way through her mouth.

"Well let's just hope it's the Gin. That seems like a lot for a kid to live up to."

Suzanne laughed. "I don't really know that I believe it. She started getting really crazy after that; talking about gem stones and sword fighting. I probably should have kept the extra ten bucks, huh?"

Sarah swallowed hard. _Just keep talking, don't be a spaz._

"Yeah, sounds pretty loony to me." She quipped.

Suzanne laughed, and then her eyes started to droop.

"Listen, Mavis," she said placing a hand on Sarah's "I know we just met and everything, but would you mind staying just till I fall asleep. I hate being alone in this room."

Sarah's heart was breaking. Her time with her mother was about to draw to a close and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She wanted to run out that door right then, pull the closest doctor inside and tell him to save her mother. But she knew she couldn't. She knew that by saving her mother she would ultimately destroy all the precious memories she had of growing up with Mel and Janice. As much as she wanted a life with her mother, she wanted her memories more. At least now she had a beautiful addition to add to the mix.

"Sure, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." Sarah said, turning her hand over to hold her mothers.

"You're a good girl." Suzanne said with a smile, then closed her eyes and drifted off.

Gently moving her hand away, Sarah stood and placed the lightest of kisses on her mother's forehead. The whispered 'I love you' was almost inaudible, as she drew away and entered the bathroom. Just as before she started to recite the Greek words and before she knew it she was dry heaving in her own bathroom. As she cleaned off her face and looked in the mirror she allowed herself the breakdown that she so rightfully deserved. She would never share the night's events with Janice, and though Janice may have expected Sarah to use the stone to see her mother she would never bring it up either. After suiting up in her pajamas she crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep.

When she woke Janice was already hard at work in preparation for Sarah's "trip". The older woman was up at six a.m. managing to laminate quite a few maps that would be useful in Chin, Japa, and Greece just in case she got lost. When Sarah rolled out of bed in her Nick and Nora's, she was instantly given a cup of coffee and a PowerPoint presentation on their plan. Once that was over Janice led the less groggy girl into the bedroom where she packed her rucksack with the maps, a huge water bottle, some tofurkey jerky, dried fruit and a couple new packs of boy-cut underwear.

"Aunt Jan, I'm not gonna be gone forever. Do I really need that much underwear?" She asked.

"You never know." She said packing the item of discussion away. "You may want to help them escort Eve to Greece. And don't even try to give me any lip about how many toothbrushes I got you. If for some reason you get stuck there you're not gonna want to go without a toothbrush for the rest of your life."

"Just leave a little room in there for my clothes, ok?" She said with a sigh.

"Speaking of which what are you going to wear?" Janice asked.

"Same thing I usually wear on digs. Cargo pants, a couple of shirts with expletives on them, and my timberlands." Sarah said as she nonchalantly packed the described items away.

"Don't you think you're gonna stick out a little?" The older woman asked disapprovingly.

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna raid the Coyote Ugly clearance bin in order to fit in with the rest of the kids. You know leather gets all gungy when you sweat. Besides, Xena and Gabrielle will know where I'm from and the way I figure it the rest of the onlookers won't matter."

"I guess we'll see."

"Hey, you talked me into this under protest; you don't get to criticize my fashion sense." Sarah said with a smirk.

"So you're still not feeling good about the decision to go." Janice said soberly.

Sarah sighed and answered, "I'm not trying to out do Luke Skywalker on the whining here, but I gotta say I've never felt like I've ever been this far out of my league." She sat down on the bed and ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, we're talking about changing the history of the world. You really think that it should be entrusted in me? Aunt Jan, I'm the same girl that always stayed out past curfew, was arrested before I was old enough to drink, screwed up so many times on balancing my check book that I made the decision to only deal in cash, and am obviously emotionally unstable. I just can't help thinking that if this is the right thing to do; I'm just not the right person to do it."

At that point Janice sat down and put an arm around her niece and began to speak.

"You forgot to mention your terrible memory." She said as she kissed Sarah's forehead.

"Oh, yeah?" The younger woman asked.

"Yeah." Janet answered. "See, you forgot that you stayed out past curfew many times to let your friends cry on your shoulder, and that the one time you were arrested it was for knocking out that frat boy for calling me and Mel bull dykes, and who needs a bank account in ancient Japan? The truth, whether you let yourself admit it or not, is that you have one of the most loving, caring, and loyal souls that I have ever seen. And if I had the entire world to choose from to do this, I still wouldn't have a second thought with this decision. Even if you go there and turn right back around I'll know it was the right result." She gave Sarah one last squeeze and moved off the bed to finish off the packing. "And, seriously, if I have to give you one more cheesy pep talk I'll schedule you another appointment with that grossly over excited life coach for when you come back home."

This made Sarah laugh.

"Oh whatever. She'd never agree to see me again. They upped her meds after the last session." She said, moving to help her aunt finish with the rucksack.

Janice paced around the study as she mentally went over every last detail of their plan. As Sarah entered the room the older woman couldn't help the grin that sprang to her face. The girl looked like a younger version of herself with the added t-shirt proclaiming "Archaeologists do it in the dirt."

"You look so proud." Sarah said with mock sincerity.

Janice chuckled.

"I am proud. I'm also amazed at how unrelentingly crass you are sometimes." She noticed something new sticking out from the bottom of the rucksack. "Is that your softball bat I see hovering above your ass?"

"Why, yes it is." Sarah said with a smirk.

"You do know that just because Xena and Gabrielle were lesbians doesn't mean they played softball, right?"

Sarah rolled her eyes at that one.

"First of all; the bat is for self defense seeing as I am going into a hostile environment. Second of all; it's never been proven that they were lesbians. Gabrielle's scrolls exemplified subtext, not main text." She said, trying to rile her aunt.

"Subtext my ass." Janice huffed. "They bathed together, slept together, kissed each other on more than one occasion, called each other soul mates, only slept with ONE man each after meeting each other, and then there was that whole "Eve has two mommies" thing. They were lovers and you know it. You just like to razz me about it."

"I think the point was that I wasn't bringing the bat along for softball practice."

"You know Sarah, and I say this with all the love in my heart, there is no one better for this job simply because if you aren't persuasive enough to get the desired results, you can always drive them to the brink of insanity and simply lead them down your desired path."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, where's the stone. We need to do this before I come to my senses." She had replaced it earlier that morning in between breakfast and Janice's morning shower, but still decided to ask where it was for good measure.

Janice moved to the desk, grabbed the chronos stone and placed it in Sarah's hand. She watched as the young girl's gaze sharpened on the stone and couldn't tell if her expression was one of sadness or anger. After a few seconds Sarah started to speak.

"Listen, we both know that a million things could go wrong here." She saw Janice beginning to interrupt her and halted the older woman's words. "No, stop Aunt Jan, just listen. If something goes wrong and I don't come back, or in the worst case scenario I end up screwing up the future, I want you to know that I take full responsibility for all of it. We all choose our path in life and we're both about to see where mine takes me. But no matter what I love you and I'll fight hard to come home."

Janice paused for a second and looked into Sarah's eyes.

"Sarah, I don't know why, but I get the feeling that this was always meant to be. That every single step you've taken has led you to this point. I don't know what lies in store for you baby, but whatever it is seems like it has to happen. Do you feel that at all?"

Sarah smirked, trying to forget something very similar she'd heard the night before. "I think you understand me well enough to know that indecision is my constant companion, and this is no different. I don't know if this is the right thing to do. What I do know is what I've decided to do, and that's my jumping off point." She looked at the stone in her hands and turned it so she could see every angle. "Now how's this gonna feel?" She asked with a glance to the older woman, still playing the novice.

Janice's face was enough to tell Sarah that she was not going to like this experience. Her mouth formed some kind of half smirk yet her brow furrowed in trepidation.

"That bad, huh?" The young woman smiled and shook her head. "Guess I should be glad I was too anxious to eat much breakfast."

"Do you have everything?" Janice asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do." She replied habitually patting down the long coat that she would need for the Japanese winter.

"Ok, remember, when you're talking to Xena be firm so as to earn her attention, but submissive so she doesn't see you as a threat. She'll be a dangerous warlord when you first meet her and we don't want to chance you dying and her obtaining the stone. If you think you could possibly screw up the world, imagine what would happen if she figured out how to use it."

"I got it, I got it." Sarah said. "Pander to her, but take advantage of her grief stricken state. You really don't have to worry. With my charm and wit I'll have her buying me drinks by the end of the night." The last part was stated with mock assurance.

"Yeah, well there won't be any drinks until after she gets those damn ashes to their proper resting place. Seriously Sarah that is the breaking point. Do not let the villagers destroy that urn."

"Relax Aunt Jan; I have it all under control. And so what if I don't. Failure at this point honestly won't matter much as far as our lives are concerned and you are just going to have to take it as what was meant to be." She moved in to hug the older woman. "I love you, but I really do need to go before I lose my nerve."

Janice hugged her back with an intensity that Sarah didn't know her old muscles had.

"Please be careful." She said as a worry lines knitted her already wrinkled brow. "If I lose you all I'll have left is Jake. You wouldn't want me to have to deal with him alone, would you?"

The remark earned a mirthful grunt from Sarah, but she did not respond to the question.

"Step back Aunt Jan. I'll be home before you know it." She said as the older woman moved away.

Sarah breathed deeply and looked deep into the stone for what felt like the thousandth time. _I just had to see what was in that other room. Stupid green hunk of rock._ She thought to herself. _Here we go._

And with that she softly started speaking the incantations. Just as with last night knowing what was going to happen did nothing to help the sickness forming in her stomach. She was also beginning to believe that because she was traveling further back in time the experience was much more intense. To put it bluntly; traveling with the stone was a bitch. But it worked, for soon she was face down in a snow bank.

If the urge to vomit hadn't been so strong she would have simply laid there for a few seconds in worship of the ground; but that was not in the cards. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees as her stomach heaved and forced its contents onto the cold snow. Sarah's body was so shaken that it continued to retch well after there was nothing left to come out. The dry heaving made her eyes water and her breath ragged, but it too finally came to an end. She ran a hand over her mouth and took in as much cool air as she could. The whole experience was so violent that she never even heard the footsteps in the snow moving closer to her back.

What she did hear was the sword unsheathing itself and swiftly moving to rest on her neck.

"I'll take whatever's left of what you've been drinking." The female voice said calmly, but with a chilling strength.

Sarah started breathing hard and the racing of her heart could probably be heard by the stranger. _Oh shit, what do I do? That stupid fucking stone sends me right to a road brigand. _She searched the snowy landscape as if somehow it would have an answer that would keep her alive. _Screw it; I've got a small bottle of Jack in my pouch. I'll just give it to her and maybe she'll take it and go._

"I have a bottle in my bag. Take the sword off of me and I'll get it for you." She said, the Greek words flowing from her tongue as if she'd been speaking them since birth. Her accent was all over the place and she knew it, but it really didn't seem to matter at this particular moment.

Before she knew it the woman was roughly turning her around and pushing her to sit in the snow. Her sharp sword now pointed at Sarah's breast as she began to speak again.

"Who says I'm not gonna take your bag too?" She said chillingly.

Sarah's eyes ran over the length of the sword, up to the bracered hands, the long furs and, at last, the chiseled face. It was the blue eyes that finally caused her own to stop. She swallowed hard as she forced her voice to work.

"Xena?" She said with as much timidity as wonder.

The tall attacker simply studied her prey for a moment then responded.

"That's right." She said as her lips moved to form a feral grin.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sake Bomb

"Fresh Meat."

This was the first thought Xena had as she watched the young girl heave onto the snow. Probably young, and drunk. Robbing her will be easier than taking candy from a baby, even if it is a little messier. But then the girl said her name. The warrior was very rarely wrong about anything, and was surprised even less of the time. What is this strangely dressed Greek girl doing in Japa? And furthermore, how does she know me?

Though Xena was momentarily taken aback, she was also intrigued. Moving into a squatting position, she held fast to the sword positioned at her victim's heart while coming closer to her face for an even more foreboding interrogation.

"What's your name, little girl?" She said with a Cheshire grin.

"Sarah." Was the response. If it takes every ounce of courage in me I will not stutter. She thought to herself.

"Sarah huh? Well Sarah, you picked a bad night to take a drunken nature stroll. I'm about to rob you blind. The only thing halting this inevitable outcome is my interest in how exactly you know who I am." The warrior said as if she were discussing what kind of crumpets to have with the afternoon tea.

Shit, here we go. Sarah thought briefly as she prepared herself to lie to The Destroyer of Nations.

"Akemi is one of my closest friends." She spewed.

As much as Xena is known for exercising perfect physical control in a fight, her expression did not fare so well in this battle of wits.

"Akemi." She breathed as much as spoke. The predatory expression fell from her face just for a moment, only to be replaced by an even deadlier one. With the agility of a cat Xena tossed the sword and quickly jabbed two fingers in each side of Sarah's neck. "Keep talking, girl. And start praying that I like what I here, cuz you've only got thirty seconds to live if I don't."

Sarah tried to breath, but it was like sucking air through a straw. Her whole body was numb, but her head felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't focus on anything else until her assailant started yelling at her.

"I said talk, girl!" Xena screamed as she held her up by her shoulders.

Sarah couldn't tell how many seconds had gone by, and she didn't have time to worry about it. All she could do was lie; lie so big the warrior would take the pinch off and let her live.

"Akemi is my friend."

Breathe.

"I heard she was in trouble, so I came to Japa."

Breathe.

"Then I heard a Greek woman named Xena rescued her."

How many seconds has it been? She thought with a fear she had never known before. The anger that she had not been freed from her affliction was starting to bubble. If I'm about to die I'm not going to do it without mouthing off.

"If you want to know more take this off of me. Otherwise go fuck yourself."

Taken aback by the girl's sass, Xena could only stare, dumbfounded for a few seconds before hitting the pressure points she knew would release her. She watched as Sarah fell forward onto the ground; choking and sputtering before vehemently speaking in a foreign tongue. Once the coughing fit was over and equilibrium was restored the two women just stared at each other, before Xena decided to speak.

"Continue." She said coldly.

Sarah took a few breaths to gather her thoughts in an effort to save her skin. After carefully choosing her words she continued.

"Akemi and I have been friends for a long time. I try to keep up with trader gossip about Japa when I'm in Greece. I heard the daughter of Yodoshi had been kidnapped and then rescued by you. I came here to make sure she was ok." She stood up in defiance of the warrior, trying not to show an ounce of the fear that threatened to overtake her at any moment. "So you can either tell me what happened, or I can keep going on my path to find out for myself."

Xena simply stood there. The expression on her face was completely unreadable.

Balls of steel: Just keep acting like you have balls of steel. It got you through the pinch; hopefully it will get Xena to loosen up more. She thought to herself as she started moving past the warrior with false confidence.

"Fine." Sarah said. "I'll find her on my own."

She had actually walked five paces past Xena before the warrior spoke.

"You won't find her at Yodoshi's fortress." Xena called over her shoulder.

Sarah stopped, trying to time everything perfectly. She took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"And why not?" She said without turning around.

The warrior turned to face the girl who, just a few moments ago, was nothing more than her next victim.

"Because Akemi is here with me." Xena said evenly.

Sarah turned around quickly, as if she didn't know where the mellow dramatic dialogue was leading.

"Where?" She asked eagerly.

She watched as Xena's face fell. The tall woman slowly reached into her coat and pulled out an ornate looking urn. With slow hesitation she presented it to Sarah. Grasping the urn, Sarah fell to her knees. Come on now, work up the tears. She thought to herself. It worked on five speeding tickets, it'll work on this. As one solid tear descended down her face she looked up at Xena.

"How?" She asked, her voice cracking. If this were on film I'd be "thanking the academy" next year.

Xena swallowed hard to keep her own tears at bay and started explaining what happened to the girl at her feet.

"I don't know whether you were aware of this or not, but Akemi wasn't exactly Daddy's little girl. Apparently Yodoshi dishonored her entire family and in order to restore honor to them she was required to kill him."

"And you let her?" Sarah said, with feigned concern.

Xena's eyes flashed with anger as she stepped closer and defended herself.

"I was just along for the ride you little shit. Akemi made sure to keep the details from me."

Ok, I might be over playing this. Sarah thought and calmed her tone.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't blame you." She paused as if trying to place her anger in check then continued. "So she went through with it?"

"Yes she did." Xena said with a scowl. "And apparently even though Yodoshi had it coming, Akemi had to die for killing him. Otherwise, her soul would lose its place among the ancestors."

Doing good so far, I just have to get a little further in those emotional defenses. Sarah thought before she spoke.

"I never knew how brave she really was." She added a small pause for dramatic effect. "Did you love her?" She asked, this time truly wondering what the answer was.

Xena looked away, not caring to meet the other girl's eyes.

"I loved her as much as I can love another person at this point in my life." The warrior paused with sincere thought. "She broke my heart." Twin tears fell from her eyes as the words were spoken and Xena looked away in shame as Sarah moved to comfort her.

After placing her hand on Xena's shoulder she started to speak.

"Will you allow me to accompany you to the graveyard? I want to be there when her ashes are laid to rest." Sarah said.

I took a moment for Xena to wipe her face, but eventually she moved to pick up her sword and answer in a cold and nonchalant way.

"You have just as much right to be there as me." She said while sheathing the sword. "I was going to stop in Higuchi to have a few drinks, but I suppose Akemi deserves to be honored first."

"You're a good friend, Xena." Sarah said.

Xena laughed. "You wouldn't say that if you really knew me." She turned to face the girl behind her. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

The two women said nothing to each other on the way to the graveyard. The younger afraid to speak, and the older lost in her pain; both glad for the silence. Upon reaching the shrine Xena knelt down and bowed until her head reached the snowy ground. Taking her queue, Sarah did the same until the warrior finally raised up. She gathered her long dark hair into one hand and drew her sword in the other. Xena employed little resistance as she dragged the blade through her locks then placed them at the base of the shrine. With deliberate slowness she pulled the urn from her belongings and closed her eyes as she poured the ashes over the offered hair.

"Akemi," she said softly, "though it is certain I will never be allowed the peaceful afterlife you deserve, know that for a small time you brought that peace to my heart."

Sarah looked at Xena with peculiarity. It's so hard to imagine her going back to her old ways after saying something so beautiful. She mused. After noticing Xena was staring at her she decided she'd better think quickly about her own parting statements.

"Akemi, my friend," she said with hesitance, "the world is darkened by the absence of your light. My only wish is that you know how dear you were to my heart."

'Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it. I don't have enough hair to cut off.' Was all she could think as she bowed her head to the ground in honor of the deceased.

Xena sat in silent observance for a moment as she contemplated the girl before her. This was the exact response Sarah didn't want. Thinking too hard would lead Xena to start wondering if Sarah had some kind of ulterior motive. And even though the ulterior motive was nothing more than keeping the warrior from massacring a town, she didn't want her to catch wind of it. Moving quickly onto her knees she reached into her pouch and pulled out the bottle of whiskey. She's gonna go right back to that town and drink anyway, might as well get on her good side and hope she invites me along. At least then I'll be able to distract her from fighting; and hopefully a drunken Xena is easier to control than a sober one.

With a quick twist Sarah removed the plastic cap and handed the bottle to Xena. The warrior looked at her with a questioning eye.

"It's what you asked me for when you found me in the snow; alcohol." She said.

"You drink first." Xena said warily.

"Ha ha." Sarah chuckled "To Akemi." She said before taking a generous draught from the bottle, cringing prior to speaking again. "Believe me, one taste of that and you won't be comforted by the fact that I drank first. If I had more than a flask bottle you'd feel like you were dead by morning."

Xena took the statement as a personal challenge. With a smirk she yanked the bottle away and swallowed half of it in one gulp. A sputtering cough erupted from her throat, but the whiskey somehow stayed down. Sarah's knowing look caused a leer to form on the warrior's face.

"What in Hades is that, Centaur piss?" She asked.

"I know it's rough, but if I learned anything in all my years of sneaking booze from liquor cabinets it's the worse something tastes, the quicker it works."

On that note Xena looked at the bottle with determination and took a breath before turning it up and finishing off the rest of the dark liquid.

Jesus Christ, Sarah thought, maybe she'll pass out before we even get back to town.

Tossing the bottle she stood and offered her hand to Sarah who took it. Lifting the girl to her feet, Xena spoke authoritatively.

"Tonight we drink in memory of Akemi."

And with that the two women silently left the grave yard and headed into town.

"Ok, now this is the last time I'm going to explain this so everybody pay attention." Sarah said to the full bar of Japanese patrons. "First you take the little cup of Sake and balance it on the chopsticks that are resting on the glass of beer. Then when I give the signal you smash your fist on the table and chug the Sake bomb. Everybody understand?"

There were grunts of affirmation and enthusiasm coming from everyone including Xena who loved this new game. Upon entering the bar, Sarah had asked for the flashy drink as a joke, but when she found out they didn't know what it was she had to enlighten them. If there was one thing she needed to make sure of it was that the future didn't miss out on Japanese bar flair.

"Alright here we go: I say Sake, you say bomb. Sake…." She waited.

"Bomb." They yelled back.

"Sake."

"Bomb"

"Ok, everybody now Sake Bomb." She shouted, then became part of the crowd as she smashed and chugged. Xena finished first; as she had the prior two rounds. Once all of the raucous laughter and pats on the back were over the two women easily fell into conversation.

"You know what the problem with women is?" Xena said with a slight slur as she started her first full bottle of plum wine. Just as Sarah had promised, the whiskey worked quickly, but it wasn't nearly enough to drown the whole of her sorrows. "It's the mystery."

"Huh?" Sarah asked, not even trying to act as if she understood the warrior's meaning.

"Women are mysterious." Xena said as if that statement alone explained precisely what the "problem with women" is.

"Ok." The girl said with a shake of her head and a drink from her own bottle.

"You've never been with a woman, have you?" Xena said, figuring that was why she wasn't being understood.

"That is absolutely none of your business." She said with more nonchalance than she was actually feeling.

"Uh-huh." Xena said with a smirk. "Too exotic for you? You're not as adventurous as I thought you were."

With the alcohol loosening her tongue and inhibitions, she proudly fired back at the warrior. "I'll have you know that back home I am considered a gold star." She said, and then took another drink. "And that, my friend, means that I've only been with women."

"Well you should know what I mean if you have so much experience." Xena said.

"I didn't say I had a lot of experience. I said I've only ever been with women. There were only two and that's hardly plural."

"Well, it doesn't matter." The warrior said, draining more of her bottle. "We're not talking about you here, we're talking about me." She paused. "Wait, no we're talking about women." Another pause and then she looked to Sarah. "What was I saying about women?"

Sarah let out a small chuckle. I think I'm holding my liquor better than the warrior princess.

"You were saying that the problem with women is they're mysterious."

Xena slammed her bottle on the table and said "Exactly! Women are mysterious. Even the ones that talk all the time have secrets to hide. They can make it so you'd never suspect they were keeping something from you then WHAM," she said, smashing her fists together for emphasis, "you find out that there's this mountain of stuff you don't know about them. The problem is that the more you find out, the more you want to know. It's like a drug or even an aphrodisiac." Finishing the bottle, Xena's face fell. "Akemi surprised me quite a few times. She'd say things that were all insightful, and it would show me that there was more to her than I thought. Even when I knew she had tricked me I still wanted to protect her."

With that she angrily threw the now empty bottle against the wall.

"Two more." She yelled at the bartender.

Sarah quickly downed the rest of her wine, not wanting to argue with an angry Xena. She stayed quiet, lost for what to say. As the other two bottles arrived she was saved as the warrior broke the silence.

"Let's go get our faces painted by those geisha women." She said, grabbing the sake and Sarah, and then dragging both out the door.

Sarah looked in the mirror at the black and white paint that now covered her face.

At least she didn't want to get matching tattoos. She thought.

"Hey!" Xena said, pulling Sarah from her musings and throwing a coin at her. "Make yourself useful and go get us another bottle while they do me."

God, when is she going to pass out? Sarah thought as she stumbled out the door.

Upon reaching the bar next door she was met with weary stares from the bartender and the few patrons that were left. She approached the bar and leaned against the counter waiting for the man to approach her. Without a word from her he brought two bottles over and began to speak.

"Your friend seemed very upset about something."

"She had a hard day." Was the response he got.

"She is Greek?" He asked.

"What does it matter?" She countered.

"We have heard that a lone Greek warrior would be coming through here to honor the death of a murderess." He said accusingly.

"Well obviously that's not my friend because she's not a 'lone warrior,' she's with me. And I don't like people spreading rumors about my friends." She said menacingly before grabbing the bottles. "Last I checked we were drinking and complaining about women. I'm sure that's something you can relate to."

The last remark was made to put the man at ease. With reluctance he laughed and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. Her luck was running completely to her advantage so far, and a little more at this point would ensure that the angry mob didn't come looking for Xena.

She grabbed the bottles and left the bartender with a wink and one of Xena's pieces of currency.

By the time Sarah arrived next door Xena was exiting with a newly painted face and a forlorn expression that the make up did little to hide. She grabbed one of the bottles and took a few hard pulls.

They walked in silence for a few moments; Xena caught up in her own thoughts and Sarah not knowing quite what to say. Once she noticed a few sniffles from the warrior she decided to give conversation a go.

"I know how hard it is to lose someone, Xena, but something you have to understand is Akemi died doing what she thought she had to do. It's what she wanted."

"You think I don't know that?" Xena asked. "It still doesn't ease the hurt. Akemi was pure and good. Something I haven't come across in a person in a long time. And she cared about me, really cared. I'll never have that again."

"You don't know that. Fate has a way of leading us down paths we never thought we would take." Sarah said, half to herself.

"You're young; you don't know what you're talking about." She paused for another swig and let the tears fall some more as they walked. "What kind of person could ever love a monster like me?"

"A brave person." Sarah said without hesitation, thinking of Gabrielle.

Xena rolled her eyes and replied, "Look, you're a nice girl and everything, but I've had my fill of wide eyed innocents for the time being."

Sarah's eyes widened as it dawned on her that Xena took her comfort to be flirting.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean…" She stuttered. "I mean you're like…" related to me "not my type. I was just saying that it's totally possible that someone will love you again and that person will have to be incredibly brave what with the warlord thing and all."

Xena shrugged her shoulders, not knowing if she believed her, and obviously not caring.

"Well, I'm done with women for now. I'm sure I'll change my tune in the future, but from here on out I'm sticking to men who can offer me strategic advantage and a little fun in the sack. I'll probably head out in the morning and look Borias up again. Who knows?" She said, finishing the rest of the bottle.

"Speaking of morning, don't you think we should be hitting an inn about now? It's getting pretty late and…" She was cut off by a snowball hitting her in the face.

Turning toward the origin of the attack she noticed five burly men from the bar, each holding some kind of weapon.

Oh shit, it didn't work. The mob is going to attack anyway. She thought.

"Ladies shouldn't be walking around unescorted at night." The leader said. "It's not safe."

"Yeah, well we're just about to head in for the night, so if you'll excuse us." Sarah said.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that little girl. I saw you and your friend throwing around quite a few coins in the tavern, and we've come to collect whatever you've got left."

Thieves! They're thieves. This might not be so bad after all. Sarah thought just before Xena spoke.

"Boys you picked on the wrong helpless individuals tonight." Xena said, a grin forming on her face. "You see I was drunk and depressed, now I'm drunk and pissed off. You're about to enjoy the wrath of the pain that has plagued me for the past few days. Shiiiiii-ya!" She cried out and flipped toward them.

"Oh shit." Sarah exclaimed, throwing herself into the mix.

Gotta keep them alive. She thought.

The fight that broke out could hardly even be labeled as such. Everyone was drunk and throwing punches all over the place. Sarah had to admit that Xena was better than the men's combined forces by far. Though the younger girl tried to hold her own she was thrust out of the fight by the angry and seasoned warrior and left only to look on in awe at her skill.

Xena fought with such precision that the fight could have been choreographed. She started off by using the men against each other. As they all went at her at once she somersaulted backward, out of the way. Two of the men ended up knocking each other unconscious, leaving only three agitators left to be dealt with. They advanced on her together, the man in the middle held a sword and the other two had staffs. With an ease that seemed impossible, Xena quickly jumped cheerleader style into the air with both feet hitting the two flanking men, and both hands directing the on-coming sword into the ground. Upon landing she held tight to the sword hilt and kneed the owner in the face. He stumbled onto his back, stunned but not unconscious like his cohorts. With a satisfied grunt Xena pulled the sword from the ground and headed over the struggling man.

"You know, pal, that was really pathetic." She said as she took her stance directly over him with the sword poised on his chest. "Here you are, middle of the night, taking on two women with four men to back you up and now all of you are on the ground at my mercy. And mercy is something that I am completely out of at the moment." She said before giving out a war cry and raising her sword.

"Wait!" Sarah said as she moved to hold Xena's arms in the air.

"What?" The response came not only from Xena, but from the man at her feet as well.

"Look, while killing him would be mildly entertaining for about five minutes, we could hold off and do something else that would be just as much fun for us in the morning."

Xena lowered the sword which demonstrated she was listening, but looked at Sarah as if she had grown a third eye.

"This better be real good, kid." Xena said with little patience.

Sarah smirked at Xena, and then decided to whisper her plan into the warrior's ear considering one of the men was still conscious and listening with rapt attention.

He studied Xena's face as it turned from an impatient scowl to a grin. Fear caused his skin to prickle.

"Humph!" Xena chuckled as Sarah pulled away awaiting her answer. "Ok, you go get the guy, and I'll stay here and make sure our little subjects don't get away."

With one last glance at the men on the ground Sarah ran as fast as she could to the town shops. Hoping against hope that she would return before Xena changed her mind.

The Japanese man watched as Sarah ran away, but quickly brought his attention back to the warrior as she knelt to speak with him face to face.

"Right now you need to be thanking whatever gods you worship that I'm drunk and she's clever. Because without those two conditions you'd be dead by now."

Morning brought a sense of anxiety and a hangover to Sarah. She had checked herself and Xena into an inn with the money she'd confiscated off the thieves then promptly passed out in her bed. As she made her way down the stairs she wondered if Xena would be down there waiting on her, or if blood lust overtook the warrior during the night and caused the massacre that was supposed to happen in the first place.

Slumping on the bar at the inn she ordered a pitcher of water. A strong hand clamped down on her shoulder and a familiar voice spoke loudly into her ear.

"Good morning, sunshine." Xena said, grinning as she took a seat next to her. "How ya' feelin'?" She asked.

"Not as good as you obviously. What's with the 'earth says hello' attitude?" She asked.

"Oh, I took some bitter herbs and drank a pitcher of water before I passed out last night." She said, matter of factly.

"Well, it would have been nice if you'd shared that wisdom with me."

"Pfft." Xena let out the sigh with a roll of her eyes. "I tried to get you to do both, and all you did was beat me away and start snoring. I was too tired to argue." She then poured her own glass and continued. "So when are you heading out?" Xena asked.

"After a few more glasses. Trying to start the day off right." She said, finishing her first and pouring the second from the pitcher. "You leaving this morning, too?" She asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"Yep." Xena said, looking around. "Not much left for me here. I know you're probably headed back to Greece by boat, but if you want to take a detour through Chin, and travel west on land, you can ride with me till I find Borias."

"Oh I see, you're gonna ditch me once you find the big burly man. What's the matter? Scared he'll take one look at me and reevaluate his affections for you?" Sarah teased.

The warrior chuckled. "Don't put so much stock in yourself kid; you're not that cute. C'mon and finish up with that water, you can walk me to the boat and make up your mind."

Upon exiting the inn the two women noticed a fairly large group of people gathered together. They were talking and laughing loudly at whatever was in front of them. It took only a few moments for Sarah to register what was going on.

"Oh yeah, they must've found those guys that attacked us last night." She said.

"Oh goody, goody." Xena said with what could have been called a purr. "Let's go admire our handiwork." She then grabbed Sarah and they started pushing their way through the crowd.

The sight they saw could only be described as satisfying. All five men were naked, gagged and bound together around a lantern pole in the street. The crowning achievement of this sight was the symbols tattooed on their foreheads signifying that they were all thieves. The town's people were heckling, swearing, and throwing rotten fruit at the men who could have possibly stolen from them at some point in time.

One of the men's eyes focused on Xena and Sarah and he started to scream something that was muffled by the gag they'd tied around his mouth. As he struggled against his bonds the crowd reacted with more laughter and taunts. Xena simply smirked and tipped her large hat at the man and started to make her way back through the crowd. Sarah backed away as well, both middle fingers poised in the air.

Once they made it to the docks the two women finally stopped joking about what the cold weather was doing for the naked men's reputations among the single ladies of the village, and they said their goodbyes.

"So you're sure you don't want to travel with me for a while. I promise we could get into a lot more trouble than that on the way." Xena said.

Sarah laughed. "You know it's pretty tempting; unfortunately I do have some really important stuff that I need to get back to. But let me say this, it's an honor to be asked, Xena." She said with full sincerity as she put her arm out to the warrior. "It's been a pleasure knowing you."

Xena rolled her eyes and grabbed the offered hand at the forearm. "If I'da known you were such a sap I would have never let you drink with me." She said just before turning the hand shake into a hug. "Take care of yourself, Sarah."

And with that the warrior broke away and boarded a boat headed for Chin. Within moments the boat started to clear the dock and set sail. Sarah waved, not knowing if Xena could actually see her, and spoke softly. "I'll see you soon."

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Secrets We Keep

The summit of Mount Fuji would have been much more hospitable had the wind not been so persistent in its whipping. Sarah clutched the collar of her coat close to her face as she continued walking toward the noises ahead. She knew that timing and placement for this final time jump would be difficult so instead of zapping right into the middle of one of the fights, she figured she would try to land out of the fray, but within walking distance. Taking a few more steps prompted her to squat close to the ground. Up ahead Gabrielle was about to give that Japanese soldier a chakram upside his head.

A smile grew on Sarah's face. She wanted to cheer Gabrielle on, but she knew that would just be a bad move. This phase of the plan was strictly recon. As soon as Gabrielle poured the ashes into the spring she could make herself known to the dynamic duo, but until then she would stay put. It certainly wouldn't suit her purpose to somehow throw off Xena in the final battle and give over victory to Yodoshi.

Sarah watched and waited until she saw Xena move towards Gabrielle just as she was about to pour the ashes into the spring. But for some reason Xena still stopped Gabrielle from continuing with her task.

"No fucking way." Sarah said to herself as she moved in closer to see exactly what the hold up was…

"Gabrielle, I must stay dead." She heard Xena say. "In order for those souls to enter a state of grace the person who killed Yodoshi must be in one as well. You can't bring me back."

The warrior spoke with tears in her eyes, and even though Gabrielle may have bought it, Sarah didn't.

"I didn't come this far just to end up with the same crappy ending." She said closing in on the two. "Hey!" She yelled out.

Both women looked over. Their faces covered with both confusion and surprise.

"Yeah, you two. What the hell's going on here? There should be no reason for you to stay dead, Xena."

"Who are you?" Xena asked, both anger and confusion in her voice. Gabrielle's eyes passed back and forth between women, trying to understand what was going on.

Sarah looked back at the sunset, trying to gauge how much time they actually had left. A small fraction was left just above the horizon so she decided introductions would have to come after the miraculous resurrection.

"I'll explain that later, right now I want to know who told you that you had to stay dead for those souls to be at peace. Was it Akemi, because I had a feeling that sneaky little shit was up to no good?"

"How dare you." Xena said, rushing towards Sarah and thrusting her fingers into the girl's neck. They both soon realized that the pinch didn't work.

Sarah swallowed hard with relief then continued voicing her concerns.

"Now, see if you had a body that would've worked better this time around." Sarah said.

"I know you from somewhere." Xena said as she did a mental check.

"And she's catching on." Was the sarcastic response. "Unfortunately there's no time to take a trip down memory lane. Now, who told you to stay dead for the peace of those souls?" Sarah asked, determination flowing from her eyes.

Xena was quiet, possibly still trying to remember how she knew her. Gabrielle watched the exchange and decided it was her turn to weigh in.

"Xena it's a fair question. Who was it that told you to stay dead?" She asked, concerned.

Xena turned, anxiety apparent on her face, and stumbled through an answer.

"Gabrielle it's complicated." Xena said. As she struggled to find more words Gabrielle's patience began to wear thin.

"No, Xena, it's not complicated. Either someone told you to stay dead, or they didn't. Now which is it?" The bard asked with anger now tempering her voice.

Xena simply looked from the bard to the ground. The lie she had prepared simply couldn't come out after all they'd been through. "It's the way things should be, if you stay with me things like this are always going to come up. I'll never be able to completely make up for my past and you don't deserve to live your life in that endless battle."

"So there's no need for…" The blonde said just before looking at the sunset. The smallest sliver of red was about to descend into the horizon. "Damn it, Xena." She swore as she unceremoniously dumped the contents of the urn into the spring.

They all watched as Xena started to convulse. Hunched over and grasping at her stomach, she was illuminated by various shades of light. With a lurch and a scream her arms flailed out as far as they could reach, as if she were opening her body up to the life being poured into it. Some unseen force lifted her off the ground. Xena let out a cry into the air, and then was slowly dropped onto the ground where she rested on her stomach and gasped for air.

"Un-fucking-believable." Sarah said softly as she looked on to Gabrielle.

She thought the bard would move to help Xena up as soon as the show was over, but she didn't. Instead the bard tossed the chakram directly in front of the warrior's face.

"If you don't want to live anymore you take your own life. Don't you dare be a coward and lay that burden on me." The bard said with anger raging in her voice.

"Gabrielle I-" Tears were forming in Xena's eyes as she tried to speak, but Gabrielle stood firm and cut her off.

"You what, Xena? You were going to put me in charge of your fate? Force me to be the one to let you go?" She was yelling at this point. "I wanted to die once too; when I killed that boy in the desert, but you wouldn't let me. You said that sometimes love goes beyond the greater good. At least I was guilty when I laid my life on the line, you're just giving up. So if this mountain is where you want to end things, so be it. But this time you're on your own."

Gabrielle started to walk away at that point. She was furious.

Oh great, I save Xena but lose Gabrielle and I need both of them to help me save Eve. Sarah thought to herself, not quite knowing how to salvage the situation. Wait a minute: Eve. Surely Gabrielle will stick around long enough to save her then hopefully the two lovebirds can patch things up.

"Hey, Gabrielle, wait up." She said, moving to grasp the bard's arm.

"This is not a good time." Gabrielle warned through clenched teeth, as she jerked her arm away.

Sarah persisted. "I realize that, but something very bad is going to happen if I don't get your help and it has to do with Eve."

Gabrielle stopped in her tracks and Xena stood up, coming closer to both of them.

"What's happened to her?" Warrior and bard said in unison.

Sarah backed a way a little bit; unaware of how safe she was in this particular conversation. She swallowed hard and answered.

"Nothing yet, but right now she's about to walk into a civil war that's taking place in Chin. If we don't get there soon she'll be arrested, then executed."

"How do you know this?" Gabrielle asked.

"She seems to know a whole lot of things that have to do with us." Xena said with spite.

Great, now they both hate me. Sarah thought before she spoke.

"Ok, look I can explain everything during some down time, but right now I think we should head back to town and prepare to set sail for Chin."

"And who say's you're going with us?" Xena asked.

"Um. Well I mean I can help you. I know a lot about the situation in Chin right now and plus it's not like a pair of extra hands is gonna set you back on your quest."

"No but a bumbling drunk might." Xena said, recognition having just dawned on her.

Sarah put on her most convincing innocent smile and laughed a little as she spoke back. "Guess I'm starting to look familiar, huh?"

"Yeah a little too familiar for someone who hasn't aged a day in over thirty years. I think you're even wearing the same clothes." Xena said with a quizzical look.

"Since she's another woman from your past that you never told me about could you please go into your predictably cold monologue explaining what her significance is? It's certainly not as if we haven't gone through this song and dance before." Gabrielle said to Xena, crossing her arms as she waited for an answer.

"Oooo." Sarah accidentally let out, before shutting up and looking away from Xena's fiery glare.

"She was there the night that I laid Akemi's ashes to rest. She said she was a friend of hers, so we got drunk in memory of Akemi and then the next morning I left and never saw her again. And now somehow she's here, and she hasn't aged a bit."

"Does she have a name?" Gabrielle asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Sarah." She piped in, grabbing Gabrielle's hand in a vigorous shake. "It's really nice to meet you even under these difficult circumstances. I'm a big fan of your scrolls."

"I'm flattered." Gabrielle said with mild annoyance.

"Right." Sarah said, catching the attitude. "So anyway I promise to explain everything, but first I think we should be booking passage to Chin and gathering supplies. We probably won't be able to catch a boat out today, but we can bunk up here for the night and I'll catch you guys up on the particulars of me over dinner. How's that sound?"

Both warrior and bard were looking at her as if she were trying to sell them fake Rolexes in Chinatown. At least it's possible that their hatred for me could bring them back together.

"By my estimation you've already lied to me once. Why should I trust what you have to say now?" Xena asked.

Sarah was starting to get a little defensive.

"Well, considering that I kept you from murdering around 40,000 people last time we hung out together, I think you can safely assume that I'm not out to cause any harm." She waited for the surprised look on both the bard and warrior's face. "Didn't expect that one, did you? Now are you going to let me regale my tale this evening or are you two gonna tear this mountain apart with the argument we all know is going to surface?"

They both studied her for a few seconds when Gabrielle finally threw her arms up and made a decision.

"Let's just get moving." Gabrielle said as she started down the mountain, leaving both warrior and "bumbling drunk" in her wake.

Dinner was even less fun than the trip down the mountain. The trio split up in an effort to save time with the errands. Xena booked passage on one of the barges headed for Chin, Gabrielle secured two rooms at the inn, and Sarah gathered supplies from the local market. By the time they all met back up at the inn it was time to sit down for the evening meal.

No one was talking at all. Gabrielle was pushing her food around her plate, feigning interest. Xena wasn't even trying to do that. She was just sitting there with her hand on her temple casually looking at Gabrielle when she thought it was safe. Sarah was scarfing down rice and seaweed as if it were in short supply. She hadn't eaten since breakfast in her own time, and that hadn't managed to stay down with the all of the time travel she had to do. She'd hoped that focusing on Eve would dissolve some of Gabrielle's anger, but there was no such luck on that point. But at least Gabrielle's anger was focused more on Xena, than herself. She wished she could say the same for Xena. Once the warrior saw that the wounded puppy look wasn't working on Gabrielle she would surely point her anger at the person responsible for the argument in the first place.

Though Sarah wasn't exactly looking forward to engaging her dinner companions in conversation, the silence was starting to kill her.

"So I guess now is as good a time as any to explain who I am, huh?" She said.

Both warrior and bard simply stared at her, waiting for the explanation to come.

"Ok, tough crowd." She whispered before plunging into her tale. She relayed the whole account: where she came from, who she was and what Janice asked her to do. Expressions of shock were what she had expected to see on their faces, but that wasn't the case. This most likely had to do with the fact that Xena and Gabrielle had seen so much in their lives; so a little time traveling was truly no big deal. The one piece of information she held back was Gabrielle's suicide, simply thinking that it was a secret best kept.

Xena was the first to speak on the subject at hand.

"So you traveled back in time thousands of years to stop me from causing the death of 40,000 people and, in effect, saving me from a sacrifice that I would have to make in the present day?"

"That's the gist of it." Sarah said.

"How can you be sure you didn't alter anything else while you were on your little mission?" She asked with venom in her voice.

"I can't be sure that nothing else was altered by my actions. But you have to understand I didn't make this decision lightly, Xena. The pieces just seemed to fit. I think I was always supposed to do this." She said, truly believing it herself for possibly the first time.

"Well that just makes everything ok, doesn't it?" Xena said with disgust. "You think you have some kind of destiny that makes you special. I used to know someone else who had the same mentality. Now he's six feet under with nearly fifty stab wounds in his body inflicted by his close personal friends." She finished with that know it all Xena smile before asking. "How many friends do you have?"

Sarah was shaken by threatening tone in Xena's question, but not enough to keep her mouth shut.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you were a warlord. You may have been creating your demons then, but at least you weren't giving up on fighting them." She said then quickly shut up when she heard Gabrielle slamming her drink on the table.

Standing up quickly the bard said, "I'm going up to my room, now. Since you two are so well acquainted you can share the other one."

"Gabrielle wait, please. We need to talk tonight." Xena said, her mood shifting quickly.

"Yeah," Sarah started. "I'm really not comfortable staying the night with a pissed off warrior."

"Believe me you're getting the safer option of the two at this point." Gabrielle said pointedly. "I'm not your biggest fan right now either."

As she started towards the stairs Sarah looked to Xena and waited for the warrior to follow suit. When she didn't Sarah knew things were bad. She played with her food for a few moments before Xena's voice pulled at her attention once more.

"This is all your fault." She said with vehemence.

"Excuse me?" Sarah asked, her anger building rapidly.

"You heard me! You meddled in our lives because you thought you knew what was best and now look what you've done. She may never forgive me for this."

"Yeah, well maybe she shouldn't! What you did was really fucking wrong, Xena. You ran away from your problems and laid them all on her."

Xena slammed her fist on the table and spoke.

"I was doing the right thing. Gabrielle deserves the happiest possible life she can have and that is not in the cards if she continues to stay with me. My past comes back to haunt me all the time and every time it does she sees more of the darkness in me. She puts herself in danger to help atone for my actions. I wasn't going to let her continue to do that."

"Well that was a real noble way you chose to handle things."

Before Sarah even knew what happened she was on the ground. Xena backhanded her across the face with a force that sent her tumbling out of her chair.

"You don't know anything." Xena said standing up so fast she knocked her own chair over as well.

The room had quieted down and the patrons were fixed to the scene between the warrior and the girl.

With a thin veil of tears stinging her eyes, Sarah looked up at Xena. Her lip was bleeding from the blow, but its sting could not compare to the one she felt in her heart. Xena looked so much like Mel and to receive such anger from her was just too much. She stood and allowed only one, single tear to fall.

"I am amazed the kind woman who raised me came from your blood. The stories she told made you my hero." She yelled. "God, I'm so stupid, I should've known that you would be nothing more than another dissapointment." She turned quickly to exit, but turned back before taking a step. "And before I make my dramatic exit, let me explain something to you warrior princess, you being pissed off at me is not the issue here. You're alive and you have another chance to not fuck up your life. Make it count for something."

And with that she stormed off into the cold, dark night.

Xena clenched her jaw and looked around, noticing the spectacle that they had created.

"The show's over." She said. When she turned to face the stairs she saw Gabrielle staring on in disgust. They locked eyes for a brief moment and then the bard walked past her brusquely.

"You should learn to listen to people before you push them away." She said before exiting.

Xena couldn't say a word. With her head in her hands she moved upstairs.

"Sarah, wait." Gabrielle yelled as she caught up. Putting a hand on her shoulder she turned the girl around.

"Just leave me alone for a while, ok." She said through the tears. It wasn't just Xena that was bothering her, it was everything.

"You shouldn't be out here alone. It's not safe." She said wiping away one of the tears on Sarah's face. "And you shouldn't be alone when you're sad."

Though the gesture touched Sarah she was feeling embarrassed and angry.

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, Gabrielle, and as much as you resemble my great aunt, you're not her. I came here to set things right and I screwed that up. The last thing I want is you feeling sorry for me."

The bard honestly didn't know what to say; she did feel sorry for Sarah.

Seeing the bard's frustration, Sarah spoke again.

"Look if you really want to make me feel better, go upstairs and talk to Xena. You may not be able to resolve everything but at least you owe your yourself the satisfaction of watching her grovel."

"Only if you come back inside. You can stay in the other room while I talk to Xena."

"Fine." She conceded.

Together they walked back to the inn. Sarah ordered a bottle of Sake, and Gabrielle headed upstairs; both women intimidated by what the rest of the night might bring.

Upon entering the room Gabrielle's eyes immediately fell on Xena. Both women were perplexed by the situation and neither knew what to say or where to begin. The blonde's head was spinning at all the revelations that were coming up. The information was just all so much to deal with at once. Her main concern right now was Eve; making sure they got her out safely. She had no idea of what they would be up against and neither did Xena. It was very much a blind following the blind situation. But on top of that was Xena. The idea that the warrior was hell bent on ending her life in such a sneaky way really grated at Gabrielle's patience. Xena was her entire life. She had given up everything to be with her and she was just going to be left behind like the little kid she was always afraid to be. Her anger over that was palpable.

Xena wasn't about to be the one to start the conversation. The very fact that Gabrielle came into the same room was a minor miracle. She would cut her losses while she was ahead and let the bard talk if she wanted to. She could tell that Gabrielle's mind was going a mile a minute. The bard was so perplexed with thought that she couldn't even begin to bring anything up. She was simply leaning against the small table that accommodated their room, her hand to her temple and eyes afixed to a board in the floor. Xena moved to look out the window, desperate for something to focus on other than the incredibly troubled bard.

And that's how they remained for a quarter of a candle mark. Every now and then Gabrielle would start to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out right. She was so angry, but anger wouldn't get them anywhere right now. Their main concern was Eve, so she begrudgingly started with that.

"What do you know about Chin right now?" She asked; eyes still glued to the floor.

Xena turned around with an inaudible sigh of relief. This was good; it was something she could focus on. And it meant that Gabrielle was at least interested in working with her towards one objective. What happened after this would be left up to the young, hurting bard. But right now they were stuck with a common goal. They were partners, still. And Xena could work on the rest along the way. She moved closer as she spoke.

"I've heard rumors around about civil unrest. Apparently the Mandate of Heaven has been upset and a new regime is trying to take over. Whether they succeed or not isn't really of much importance, what is important right now is that the country is in chaos. The government is on high alert. That's probably why they picked up Eve. They saw some stranger talking in the streets and simply assumed it was about revolution."

"If she's in prison what are our best chances of a rescue?" Gabrielle asked with a determined focus.

Xena exhaled with frustration, "Well, that all depends on the set up. If things are really lax with the guards and morale is down it's possible we could send someone in. One of us would get "captured" and figure out where she is while the other two aided in the escape."

"What's option two?"

"The more dangerous one." She said with that little half grin that is so specific to Xena it should be copyrighted.

"They would have a public execution to make an example of her. We wait until that happens and bust up the party. Depending on how well Sarah fights we may be able to pull it off with just three people."

"If she still feels like helping us." Gabrielle said pointedly, while crossing her arms. For the first time her eyes pulled away from the floor and bore right into Xena's.

Xena's first instinct was to lower her gaze in deference to the bard, but there was simply no room for the attitude at this time. They were in this together and this obvious form of insubordination would not get them anywhere.

"I'll speak with her when we're finished here to make sure her intentions haven't changed. But if you'll remember one of the reasons she came here was to save Eve. Hopefully she'll be gracious enough to put aside any anger she has toward me in an effort to carry out those intentions."

Gabrielle heard what she was saying loud and clear and decided to try to reign in her resistive sentiments. She nodded her head and looked back to the floor.

"What about the Amazons? They could help." Gabrielle offered up.

"No, the last thing we need is to bring the war home. Involving the Amazons would only complicate things. We need to simply get in, grab Eve and get out. No alliances, no enemies."

Gabrielle nodded her head and thought for a moment more.

Xena, realizing that they were finished, moved to exit the room. She stopped just short of opening the door.

"Gabrielle I know you don't want to hear anything I have to say right now-"

"Then don't say anything."

"We've been together for over six years, I'm only asking for a moment." She said; pain evident in her voice. "Please."

Not even the fire of her anger could deny that tone.

"Go ahead." She said over her shoulder.

Xena took a deep breath then turned around. She moved to Gabrielle and gently made the girl face her and spoke with tears in her darkened blue eyes.

"Whatever you may think, I love you. I've loved you from the moment I saw you stand up to Draco's thugs in that forest. I loved you as you grew into the amazing woman you are now, I loved you every time you left to find your own path, and I loved you even when it hurt." A tear fell from her eyes and she let it fall, there was no pride left in her when it came to Gabrielle. "I know that everyone thinks I'm so strong, but I get weak too. Years of watching you suffer because of me made me weak enough to finally give up. And now that weakness may have caused me to lose you. I know that this may be our last fight together; that after this you could decide to walk away from me for good. Just know that I'll love you even then. That I'll love you forever." She said the last part and walked away before the emotions became too strong.

"You forgot something." Gabrielle said.

Xena turned, confused.

"You forgot to promise that you would never do it again. That whether I forgive you or not, you'll never give up. You'll never be less than the person I loved from the beginning."

Xena's face contorted as the tears fell freely and unabashedly. She put a hand up to wipe away the tears as Gabrielle walked closer.

"We've been together for six years. I'm only asking for your word." She said with an unreadable expression on her face.

"I promise." The warrior said, barely conjuring up a whisper. She reached a hand out to touch the bards face, but was denied.

Gabrielle turned away and moved back to the table.

"You'd better go talk to Sarah." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Xena nodded in understanding. Though her heart was breaking she slowly walked out the door. It was then that Gabrielle broke down. She'd been holding the tears in too long, and she knew one touch from Xena would break her. And she couldn't be weak right now.

Xena adjusted her face before knocking on the door to Sarah's room.

"It's open." The girl said.

She walked in to find Sarah lying on the bed drinking from her bottle of sake; wincing whenever too much of the alcohol hit her swollen lip. Her eyes were affixed to the ceiling and it was evident that she'd been crying.

The warrior moved to sit on the bed next to her and finally started to talk again. She didn't remember having to apologize so much in one night, but it was obvious that it's what would be needed to start Sarah talking.

"How's your lip?" She asked.

"Sore." Was the reply.

Xena nodded.

"How's the wine?" She asked in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Cheap and watered down." Sarah said with a small smirk.

"I'm sorry I hit you earlier. I was angry at myself, and I was taking it out on you. I know none of this is your fault, I just…"

"You just got angry that this stranger was coming in to meddle with your affairs. I foiled your plan and probably made Gabrielle more angry with you than she's ever been."

Xena let out a small chuckle. "You weren't around for Illusia."

"But I was." Sarah said with a genuine half-smile as she sat up. Xena turned to meet her eyes for the first time since she'd entered the room. "Xena, I've read every single scroll that it was possible to salvage. I've taken the journeys with you. From the first time you buried your weapons in the ground, to the last. I was raised on stories of the brave Xena and Gabrielle. I may not have physically been there, but believe me your struggles are a part of me." She took another drink and sighed. "You're my heroes."

"Still?" The warrior asked with trepidation.

"Yeah, pretty much." She said with a smirk. "So what's your plan to win back the bard?"

"I'll throw myself at her feet the rest of my life if that's what it takes to be forgiven."

"It amazes me how much you still underestimate her love for you. I mean, Xena, for Christ's sake-"

"Who's sake?" She asked with confusion.

"Uh, never mind, it's just an expression in the future. Forget about it. The point is you're not giving her enough credit. She's going to forgive you, it'll just take time. And lots of groveling…. And presents."

That got a smile out of the warrior.

"She can't live without you Xena. She loves you too much."

"You don't know that." The warrior said with genuine concern.

Sarah paused for a second, wondering if she should tell the warrior just how well she knew that. She probably shouldn't, but the alcohol had loosened her tongue quite a bit and her will power wasn't as strong as it should have been.

"I know it for sure." She said and took a deep breath.

Xena looked at her with great concern etched upon her face.

"What do you mean? What happened after I died?"

"I think you know the answer." She ran a hand through her hair as the warrior looked at her in disbelief. "Her last scroll, the one I told you about at dinner, wasn't really a scroll. It was a suicide letter addressed to you. Telling you how much she loved you, and how she couldn't take life with out you. She hoped that at least this way the two of you might be together again."

Xena was in a haze of disbelief and the tears came again.

"She'll follow you anywhere, Xena. You need to think very carefully from now on about where you choose to go."

Xena nodded and stood to leave.

"So I gather that you're still going to help us with Eve?"

"Yeah, as much as I can."

"Can you fight?"

"I'm not you or Gabrielle, but I think I can keep up. ** It's hard to say. I've trained in a couple different martial arts with Janice, but there wasn't any real danger there. The extent of combat I've actually engaged in is limited to bar fights."

"Well, did you win?" Xena asked to lighten the mood.

"Most of them. The others were broken up before I knocked the guy out." She said with mock arrogance. "I assume you're staying with Gabrielle tonight?"

"Yeah, though I don't know if I'm gonna be allowed in the bed."

"Well good luck with that." She said as she stood to turn down the bed as Xena bid her goodnight and left the room.

When Xena entered the room Gabrielle was already in bed. However she could tell by her breathing that she wasn't asleep. She also noticed that her side of the bed was turned down as well and assumed that it meant she would be welcome in the bed. Breathing a sigh of relief she began to take off her armor and put on her shift.

"How'd it go?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena pulled the shift over her head and answered. "Well. She's still going to help us, and it would seem that she has some fighting skills. But I would feel better if she trained a little while we're on the boat."

"I'll work with her. It'll give us a chance to get acquainted."

Xena was a little surprised by this statement but complied of course.

"That sounds fine Gabrielle. I'm sure she will appreciate that."

It was at this point that Gabrielle realized that Xena was still simply standing near the bed and not getting in. She knew it was because Xena was feeling awkward about the sleeping arrangements.

"Are you coming to bed now?" She asked.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I was just…"

"Making sure it was ok?" She asked with concerned eyes.

"Yeah." Xena said with a small smile, and then climbed in the bed.

When she lay down Gabrielle returned to her initial position, facing away from Xena, so Xena turned her back to Gabrielle as well. At least I'm in the bed. She thought to herself.

"Good night, Gabrielle."

"Good night, Xena."

Then with the smallest movement she reduced the warrior to tears yet again. Gently, Gabrielle moved her foot to rest against Xena's. Neither woman made a sound, but both knew that their connection would simply not be severed.

They had a lot to work through, and so much trust to rebuild. But at least that small touch initiated by the brave bard gave them enough hope to sleep through the night.

Thwack! Thwack! Boom!

"Fuck!"

"What is that word you keep blurting out?" Gabrielle asked the fallen Sarah. They had been drilling ever since settling in on the boat and morning was slowly turning to noon. Gabrielle was fairly worried about Sarah's fighting skills. They weren't nearly up to par with her own and she knew that they would be going into a very hostile atmosphere.

"It's just a vulgar expression from the future. Comes out of my mouth whenever things don't go my way." She said as she picked herself up. Though she did keep ending up on her ass she was quite proud of herself for keeping up with Gabrielle. But now exhaustion was starting to take its toll. "Can we stop now for the day?"

Gabrielle chuckled and looked over to a smiling Xena.

"Um, not quite yet. We still haven't even begun the weapon training."

"Weapon training! Are you kidding I'm all ready so bruised that I'm beginning to resemble rotten fruit. How can I fight the enemy if I'm already injured?" She whined.

Xena piped in at this point.

"You know she's probably right Gabrielle. I don't know why we thought she'd be able to keep up with us. She's only a couple thousand years younger."

That earned a laugh from the bard and a scowl from Sarah.

"What weapon do you want to start with?" She said begrudgingly.

"Are you proficient with anything?" Gabrielle asked.

"My Aunt Janice trained me with a staff before she got arthritis."

"Perfect; that used to be my weapon of choice." Gabrielle said.

"I'll go round some up." Xena said moving about the boat.

Once Xena left the dock to go below deck Sarah decided to start some dialogue with Gabrielle about the state of their relationship.

"So…um... How are things going with you and Xena?"

"You mean am I still angry with her?" The bard said, taking an offensive stance. Apparently the sparring session was going to continue.

Sarah sighed and took her stance as well, then decided to go on with the conversation. Obviously Gabrielle was avoiding that with the match.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." She said blocking a kick.

"I think it's safer to say that the situation has been tabled. I'm still angry, I don't know what to do about it, but right now we have to focus on saving Eve." The bard then faked a punch and instead swept Sarah's feet from underneath her.

"Ugghhh. God damnit!" She grunted and got up, taking her stance back. This time however she was on the offensive. Throwing more punches and taking less time to worry about being hit.

Gabrielle chuckled at the doubled effort the girl was putting in. She decided to let up a bit on her own offensive and give Sarah a little more confidence.

"But you're not going to leave her right?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet." She said, blocking several blows.

"So that means you're considering it, then?"

"Yes." The bard said and at the same time swiftly turned and landed an elbow to the side of Sarah's head.

The girl recovered and continued both the conversation and the fight.

"You know in her own self loathing way, she really was trying to protect you." She threw a punch and Gabrielle caught it, brought Sarah's arm around her back, and then forced her face down on the ground.

"I don't need protection. I need her to trust that I want to be with her throughout her hardships."

"And you plan to prove that by leaving?" Sarah grunted out and was freed from the hold.

Gabrielle got up then helped Sarah to her feet.

"Look, as much as you think you know, you don't. I may have written a lot down, but so much more goes on than what was in those scrolls."

"And I get that, but don't you think that the love you two have for each other is worth struggling for... That the bad times are overshadowed by the good?"

At that point Xena arrived with the staffs and both women got quiet.

"What's going on here?"

"Nothing." Both said.

"Right." Xena said nonchalantly while tossing both staffs.

"We had just finished a discussion and were moving on to the next." Gabrielle said, taking her stance. Sarah rolled her eyes and prepared as well and they started sparring.

"So what's the next topic?" Xena asked, before taking her seat.

"How 'bout whether or not you two are lovers." Sarah said cheekily.

"Wha-oomph." Gabrielle uttered right before she hit the ground.

Sarah smirked realizing she'd finally found her opening.

Sarah fell on the small cot in her small bunk, exhausted. Her body ached from the punishment dealt out from the earlier events of the day. After making that comment about the nature of Xena and Gabrielle's relationship the training just got more intense. And sadly no answer was even derived. It was obviously an issue best left to speculation...

For now at least.

Meanwhile Xena and Gabrielle stayed topside for a little air before bed.

"So, what do you think?" Xena said as they sat together and looked at the stars. "Can she can keep up?"

"You saw everything that we did today. Haven't made any conclusions?" Gabrielle stated with exhaustion in her voice.

"I have, but I'd really like to know what you think. You're a good judge of character, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle ran a hand through her hair, and then propped her head against it. "She's not incredibly skilled in any area, but she does seem better than the average soldier. It's obvious she's never killed anyone though. She could never seem to close in. Always fighting defensively. There were a couple of times she would have had me if she had just taken a more lethal approach, but it seemed like it never crossed her mind. There was no hesitation or anything, just preparing for the next move. It could get her killed."

"You seemed to make it ok when you didn't fight to kill." Xena said in reply.

"I had you to protect me. You're going to have too much on your mind in this fight to do that for both Sarah and Eve."

"Then maybe you'll be the one doing the protecting, and be the hero this time." Xena said, pride mixing with fear.

"There's no room for two heroes here, Xena. And I never wanted to be one anyway. I don't know if that was another one of your reasons for staying dead, but if it was you were wrong. The only place I've wanted to be since I met you was by your side. Whenever you asked me to cook, or help you with your armor, or deliver a message I felt like I belonged. Like you needed me. No one in this world has ever been happier than me to be second best."

"Do you still feel that way?" Xena asked as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes. For better or worse, I do."

"Does that mean-"

"It means that my place is at your side and that's where I intend to stay." She put her hand on the larger one next to hers.

"Please don't leave me behind, Xena. I know you think I'm strong, but sometimes I'm still just that scared little girl from Potadeia. I will always need you. And I still love you so much." She said with tears in her eyes.

Xena grabbed the bard and held her tight for the first time since before her last battle. Stroking and kissing the blonde head she cried tears of joy.

"I love you Gabrielle. I promise I'll never leave you again." She pulled back so she could look into the bard's eyes. "I'm so sorry I tried to take the decision away from you."

The bard's lips gave off the slightest glimpse of a smile. "So you're stuck with me then?"

"For better or worse I am." Xena smiled back, mimicking Gabrielle's previous words.

With slow hesitation Xena raised the bards chin so she could see her face. She then lovingly wiped away the tears that had made their way down the bards face and simply held it in her hands. Thinking about what Sarah had said back at the inn about Gabrielle's alternate demise, she swallowed hard and took a chance that she had to take at that very moment. Her head moved in close, creating a gap between their lips that was soon non-existent. She knew the passion that she proceeded with had to be tempered because no matter how much she'd been forgiven in the past, there was still trust to rebuild. But this was something she simply had to do. She needed to physically express her love for the bard in some way. Her greatest fear at that moment was that Gabrielle wouldn't respond, but those fears were quelled rather quickly.

Even though they'd done this a million times before Gabrielle could still turn her legs to jelly with nothing more than a flick of her tongue, or a slight suckle of her lower lip. The kiss was sensual, not sexual, but both women were beginning to breathe hard.

Xena was reminded of their first make up kiss. It happened right after she'd come to see Gabrielle in the fort hospital when they were up against the horde. The bard had initiated that one. Once they had finished up with the soldiers for the night and headed back to their room, Xena started to remove her armor, but was stopped by small, gentle hands. She could tell Gabrielle was nervous, but despite all that she still pushed forward. It was something that Xena found incredibly attractive about her partner. After the armor was carefully placed on the table the bard moved in for the kill. Wrapping her arms around the warrior's neck she kissed her passionately. Xena met her lips with equal fervor and clutched at the girls back. The kisses that night led to a love making session that neither woman had ever forgotten.

But back then there were less hurts to heal, and it was easier to be intimate. Tonight wouldn't be like that. It didn't matter though. She would wait for Gabrielle forever.

With both chests heaving they slowly broke away and rested their foreheads together. In unison they moved to a more friendly distance, but held hands in an attempt to not lose the physical connection that felt so good, and headed downstairs.

"So um, Gabrielle."

"Yes?"

"Forgive me for not knowing the answer to this, but exactly how much detail about our relationship did you put in those scrolls?"

Gabrielle giggled. "I suppose you're referring to the comment Sarah made earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Well, at first I just wrote them to the point where it would be left up to the individual to decide whether or not we were intimate with each other. But then I couldn't help making it more and more obvious. And while there's no actual description of any physical activities I don't see how an argument could be made to the contrary of us having a relationship that was more than platonic."

"So in short you tease the masses with your writing and never deliver on the good stuff?"

She gave her a devilish grin.

"Or… I couldn't find the words to describe the beauty of such acts." The bard said with a genuine smile.

"You've got me there my bard. What response could possibly top that one?"

And with that they headed into their room.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

If You Can't Say Something Nice…

Xena was nearly shaking as the young bard started to slowly and diligently remove her breast plate. She hadn't done that since they'd reached the fort near the grounds of the horde. It was a constant shock to the warrior just how much forgiveness Gabrielle had inside her. She'd even had a taste of the conqueror in the past few days and all it took was a small apology and they were right back where they were before they'd found those men dead on the river banks. She could see the passion in the bard's eyes, but couldn't be sure how far she wanted to take things. Cautiously she stroked Gabrielle's cheek, her thumb coming to rest at the corner of her mouth. Looking deep into green eyes Xena slowly stroked her lower lip. The urge to close the distance between them was almost unbearable but it just didn't feel right for her to make the first move. Luckily she didn't have to. Gabrielle reached up and put her arms around Xena's neck, eliminating any fears Xena may have had.

The room they had been given during this little stint with the horde was nothing impressive even though it was the best the Athenian fort had to offer, but for all the two women cared it was a temple fit for Aphrodite. Gabrielle moved in carefully and kissed the warrior with purpose. She had to let her know that they were ok; that the events of the past couple of days hadn't scared her off. It took a small amount of prodding, but finally the warrior let go of her insecurities and pulled her in tighter. The bard smiled inwardly and met her lover with equal fervor, pulling at the straps of her leather bodice.

"Gabrielle, I'm so sorry for what I became these past few days." Xena said, breaking off from the kiss. She had to make sure that the bard truly understood the depth of her sincerity.

"I know that, Xena." Gabrielle said, before plunging back in to much more enticing oral pursuits. Xena moaned into her mouth as the young blonde languidly slid her tongue past the warrior's lips. It was the moment that Xena's tongue overtook her own when the bard's knees began to give way and the kissing stopped yet again.

"No, Gabrielle, wait; I need to say this." Xena said, breathing heavily and warring with her libido. "I need you to know that I would never hurt you. I know it looked pretty bad earlier, but no matter how deep into the dark side I dove, I would never have hurt you. You have to know that no matter how bad things may get in the future, I will never purposefully harm you. Please tell me you know that."

"I know it, Xena." She said softly stroking the warrior's cheek. "I know it with every fiber of my being." She moved in for a small simple kiss, and then continued. "And if you remember correctly I didn't act very afraid of you at all when you sank into your warlord mode. In fact I argued with you every chance I got. I may not always agree with the way you handle every situation, but I know that when it comes to me I have nothing to worry about. I trust you completely. Now can we please make up? I've been waiting for this since we started fighting."

Xena grinned and kissed the bard soundly, while simultaneously moving them both to the bed. An ease born of continuity, aided her as she removed Gabrielle's green top and brown skirt quickly. The bard matched her excitement and soon the leathers were keeping her own clothing company on the floor. The warrior plastered herself to the bard, slipping a knee between the two shorter legs and balancing herself on her strong arms as she sucked at a very inviting neck. This particular interlude wasn't about a slow gentle exploration; it was about passion and reaffirmation. They'd both just realized that whether they always agreed or not, they were still on the same side. That, and the fact that Xena would have been lying if she said she hadn't wanted this ever since the first time Gabrielle stood up to her in the fort.

The memory of Gabrielle's bravery made her want her even more. A soft growl rose in her throat as the thought passed through her head and she added a bit more pressure to the knee that was pressed against the bard's sex. Gabrielle let out an audible gasp and gripped at Xena's back. They both needed this so badly. Xena moved so that she was holding her upper body with her left arm as she used the right to firmly stroke the bard's face as they rocked ambitiously together. Blue eyes focused in on the green ones in front of them as she dragged her thumb across the expanse of the blonde's jaw. With torturous slowness she moved in to kiss those lips as the hand in question traveled further south. As Xena slowly circled Gabrielle's nipple with her finger she was chastised by the bard's teeth on her lips then praised with a loud moan when she moved in for a quick pinch of said nipple.

It didn't take long before the taunting just wasn't enough and to Xena's surprise the bard took the lead and moved Xena' s hand from her breast further down her body. The damp blonde curls were incredibly inviting to the warrior, but still she took things slower than the bard wanted. As she applied slow pressure to the area in question she watched Gabrielle's brow furrow. Xena couldn't help the feral grin that spread across her face, but quickly extinguished when the bard's eyes opened.

"Xena, please. I need you." She said earnestly.

And that was all it took to end the game and melt the warrior. She returned her lips to their former place on Gabrielle's and slowly parted them with her tongue as she used her fingers to do the same on parts of the bard that were even warmer and wetter. She sought out the small bundle of nerves that she already knew so well and found it with great ease. Swallowing the blonde's moans she applied generous pressure in a circular motion. She didn't even realize that she was riding Gabrielle's thigh to the tune of the same rhythm that slowly escalated.

"More, Xena, please. I want more." She said, struggling to remember basic semantics.

Xena knew exactly what she meant by "more" and quickly made adjustments to give her "more." Replacing her fingers with her thumb on the bard's clit she quickly positioned them near her entrance. But she wouldn't give in just yet. She knew Gabrielle would ask again.

"Xena please." She said predictably, causing the warrior to smile.

"Please what, my bard?" She asked.

"Xena."

"Tell me what you want, baby."

"Xena…Xena…"

"Xena! Are you ok?"

"Huh?" The warrior asked, confused and waking from her dream.

"Are you ok?" The bard asked, worry evident in her tone.

Her hair was shorter than it was moments before and Xena detected the soft rocking of the boat in contrast to the stability of the Athenian fort. It was then she realized that she had been dreaming.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She said, quickly putting a small amount of distance between herself and Gabrielle. "I was just dreaming I guess."

"Were you having a nightmare? You were moving pretty erratically." She said.

"I um… I don't remember actually." She lied. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about that, Xena. I'm just glad you're ok now." The bard said as she sunk into the warrior's arms.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." I want nothing more than to turn you over and ravish you, but I'll survive. She thought.

The bards gentle snores served to calm her a bit, but she knew sleep was a far away dream at this point. The dream had been so sweet, but at the same time had served to sting a bit. Everything had played out exactly as it had the night at the fort including the small bits of conversation they'd had.

She'd told Gabrielle she'd never purposely hurt her.

What a lie that had been.

The actions she'd taken after Solan was murdered alone drove that promise right into the trash. Not to mention all the emotional pain she'd put her through after that.

Will I ever stop hurting you, my bard? You are the one person in my life that has never deserted me and still I continue to cause you so much pain. When will I ever learn?

She continued to torture herself until Morpheus finally took her into his realm. For even the Gods feel pity sometimes.

Upon arriving in Chin all three women noticed that the tension in the air was palpable. They were even warned by the workers on the dock that it was not safe to stay in the country for very long. Even foreigners were being taken into custody, or worse, killed in the cross-fire. The first order of business was to simply get information about Eve, so they asked around at the market place. One of the merchants proved especially informative.

"Oh, yes. I think she called herself the Messenger of Eli. She arrived here a little over a week ago. Incredible girl, that one. She tried to teach people the ways of peace." The merchant shook his head, and then added. "She came at the wrong time."

"What happened to her?" Xena pressed on with a twinge of anxiety in her voice.

"The peasants weren't too happy to hear about peaceful resolutions in the face of a ruthless dictator. The Emperor's power has been threatened and the resistance is proving to be a worthy adversary. But a charismatic peacemaker who could turn soldiers away from the fight was a liability. The resistance soon made plans to assassinate her."

"Oh shit." Sarah said under her breath.

Xena grabbed the man by his tunic as if by threatening him she could influence the path of the story he was telling.

"Is she alive?"

"Yes…" The man said, stammering with fear. "The rebellion didn't move quickly enough. She was picked up by the Imperial army for protection. They're planning to send her back to Greece; she couldn't be more safe. Now will you please let go of me."

Xena moved away from the frightened man and turned to Sarah with questioning features.

"Hey don't look at me. The scroll said she was killed in Chin and that's about all it said. It wasn't the most detailed account Gabrielle ever wrote." Sarah said. It earned her a roll of the eyes from Gabrielle.

"So now we go to the palace. Maybe if we tell them we mean them no harm they'll let us in to see Eve." The bard stated.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Xena agreed.

"Are you serious? We're actually going to go to the palace… See the Chin Emperor?" Sarah said with excitement.

"That would be the gist of what Gabrielle just said." Xena stated with sarcasm and confusion.

"It's just that this is my thing. I've spent all my life reading and studying the past and now I get to live it. I'm not just going to look at a thousand year old stone from the palace; I'm going to get to walk inside it."

Both warriors simply smiled and nodded. Not quite appreciating the experience as much as Sarah due to their concern for Eve.

"It's a geek thing. Let's move on." Sarah said shaking her head.

The palace was about an hour away from the dock. They moved quickly as both bard and warrior were anxious.

Gabrielle decided to stir up some small talk to pass the time.

"You must be almost as excited to see Eve as we are, being that saving her was part of your reason for coming here." She said.

"Yeah, I guess." Sarah said nonchalantly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xena asked with suspicion.

"Look, no offense to either of you, but I'm really not a big fan of Eve. She just seems self righteous and obnoxious to me. I'm only helping out here because it's what my Aunt wanted."

"Are you always this brutally honest?" Gabrielle asked.

"Just seems to save time when you cut out the bullshit."

"Speaking of which how 'bout we drop the small talk and start discussing the way things are supposed to pan out with this war. Little Miss History expert should know the outcome." Xena said.

"That's right, we have an advantage here. You essentially know the future." Gabrielle said.

"Hold on ladies, let's not grant me more importance than I'm worth. You see, the thing with history is that it's told from the winner's perspective and every historian has a bias. I do know who the victor of this war is going to be, but as far as specifics go it's a crap shoot. Not to mention the fact that it's incredibly hard to trace time periods with any precision. As far as I know the Qin dynasty will fall. The "when" of that defeat could be tomorrow, or it could be a hundred years from now."

"So the peasants will be victorious in their fight." Xena said with confidence.

"Yeah, pretty much. But the good news is it's looking like it'll be later than sooner here because I haven't heard the name of the next ruling family even mentioned. The Han family will be the victors of this war."

"So maybe we are in luck." Gabrielle said.

"Well we're certainly due for some." Xena noted with a soft glance toward the blonde.

"Looks like we've got some in the way of making time. I can see the palace. We're almost there." Sarah said with excitement.

The gates were heavily guarded as the three women approached. Countless numbers of swords were soon drawn as they reached a proximity that was apparently too close.

"We mean no harm to the emperor or his royal guard. We are here to protect Eve, the Messenger of Eli. One of the townsfolk said we could find her here."

The soldiers talked amongst themselves and then decided to send a runner inside to ask for instruction. He returned promptly with the message that they should be taken inside to meet the leader of the royal guard.

They waited inside a large receiving room for only a short while before they were greeted by the general.

"Xena Warrior Princess!" He exclaimed as the three women turned to face him. "I wouldn't have believed it if I weren't seeing it with my own two eyes. I am General Zheng." He bowed stiffly. "We had heard rumors that you were dead. Then that you were brought back to life as a God, not to mention a God killer. It wasn't until we met your lovely daughter that we started to believe that you may not have traveled to the next life."

"Eve. Where is she?" Xena got straight to the point.

"Do not fret over that Warrior Princess. We have well protected her from the peasant pigs who would threaten her life. It was the least we could do for your family after saving Chin from the evil Ming Tien and his sister."

"I'd like to see her now, please General." The warrior replied.

"Of course, I can take you and your friends to her quarters. She is expecting you. Told us that you would be here as soon as you heard of the danger she was in. Follow me, please." He said leading the way.

Xena gritted her jaw at that last remark about Eve. I wasn't going to be there for you. She thought as she followed the stalky man. Gabrielle noticed the tension in the warrior's demeanor after the last comment and grabbed her hand. Xena squeezed the bard's hand in thanks for the kind gesture and all three followed the General to Eve's room.

The quarters were lavish to say the least. Though Eve was seeking asylum with the Chinese government she certainly wasn't roughing it. Xena's eyes scanned the room and finally landed on her daughter standing in the balcony. Eve turned when she noticed that she was no longer alone and saw the two people she loved most in the world walking toward her.

"Mother, Gabrielle." She said with a smile as she ran toward both of them.

Sarah stood back as warrior and Bard took turns hugging the daughter they feared so much for. She knew all three were feeling great relief at the moment. With Xena here nothing bad could happen to Eve. Disaster had been averted it seemed. She wondered what this meant. Obviously her missions had been accomplished, so the only thing left to do would be activate the chrono stone and head home. These thoughts would have to be put aside till later though, because now she was being led into an introduction.

"Sarah, come here." Xena said with a smile. "This is Eve. Eve, this is Sarah. She helped us find you."

Sarah held out her hand only to be enveloped in an unexpected hug.

"Thank you so much for bringing them to me." Eve said still holding on to an uncomfortable Sarah. She finally broke away and asked. "How did you hear of my capture? Were you passing through the country, or was it one of the followers of Eli?"

"Um, the answer to that is a little tricky." She said, looking to Xena for some help on the explanation she wanted Eve to have.

"We can talk about that later," Xena said in understanding "the important thing is that you're safe and now that we're here you'll remain that way. Gabrielle, why don't you keep Eve company while Sarah and I speak with the General?"

Gabrielle nodded, knowing Xena was really going to talk to Sarah about how much information Eve should have. She walked Eve back over to the balcony asking her questions about her journey as the other two women exited the room with the General.

"Do not worry, Xena. Eve is in great hands in the palace. The Emperor has the greatest respect for you and your family. His army will defend you all." Remarked the General.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality, we appreciate it greatly. But I was wondering how dangerous the situation actually is. Do you think it advisable for us to leave with Eve on the next boat out?" Xena asked.

"It would look suspicious if you were to take the royal guard with you to the docks and it would be very dangerous to go without them. I know your abilities are unmatched Xena, but I'm sure you'll agree that combat is more difficult when you have to worry about another person's safety. You are of course free to leave whenever you like, but I would advise not straying from the plan we have already put into place. Tomorrow night all of the peasants will be asleep in anticipation for the work day. Tonight they may be more active for they do not have to work tomorrow."

Xena thought for a moment. "I agree, General, tomorrow night would be a better time."

"Good, then you will stay here tonight. We can make up rooms for you and your friends and tonight you will dine with the Emperor."

"Dinner sounds wonderful, but as far as the rooms go we'll only need one more. Gabrielle and I will be staying together and Sarah," Xena said, gently placing her hand on Sarah's back, "is Eve's personal body guard, so she'll be staying with her tonight."

"What?" Sarah said, both confused and annoyed. Xena smacked her on the back to emphasize that there was no arguing here. "I mean. Yes, of course, I'll be staying with Eve." She said grumpily.

"I'm sure your guards are fantastic General, but as a precaution I'd still like to keep Sarah around. Her fighting skills are some of the best I've seen. Even gives me a hard time."

Sarah just smiled in what she hoped looked like agreement. Who knew what Xena was going to pull out of her ass next.

"Of course, Xena, we will accommodate you in whatever way you wish. Your room shall be right across the hall. It will be ready momentarily." He then bowed, which was returned by Xena who had to elbow Sarah before the girl remembered her manners. The General walked away and Sarah was finally able to inquire about this new development.

"Ok, what the hell was that all about? Eve's bodyguard? Are you kidding me?" She asked, her hand movements becoming erratic.

"Look we still don't know what's going to happen here. As far as you know Eve could have died in this castle, killed by someone on the Emperor's staff. She's not safe until her feet touch Greek soil, and until then I think it would be a good idea to keep you around."

"But you just told that guy that I was some bad-ass warrior. The bruises that your little girlfriend dealt out seem to prove otherwise. So what advantage does that give us?"

Xena glared at Sarah a little for the "girlfriend" remark, but decided not to push it.

"That comment was kind of like an extra precaution. Right now any assassin would think that it would be easy to take Eve out, but if they believe the task to be more difficult they might just back out. And even if they don't, having you in the room guarantees that Eve will be safe long enough to scream for me and Gabrielle. I know you can hold some thug off for a couple of seconds."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Sarah said with a hint of sarcasm. "But, listen, staying here is a bad idea. This is what always happens in the horror movies. People decide to wait around because they think it's safe, then WHAM all hell breaks loose and the supporting characters are missing body parts."

Xena just looked at her confused and annoyed.

"God, this 'not being understood' thing is getting really old." Sarah said in response. "My point is that we should leave now. Screw taking the royal guard. We'll cover up Eve's face and sneak out on a boat. With three of us on the alert surely we can make it to the docks."

"No, I'm not going to risk it. Not with the predictions of the future. We wait." Xena said, moving on to her idea of more important matters. "Now, I'm not sure exactly how much information I want Eve to have on the subject of who you are and where you came from. So, I think the best plan of action is to tell her that you are an old friend of mine and you are here to help keep her safe. You don't have to tell her that lie about you being a seasoned warrior. She probably won't buy that."

"Thanks a lot." She said with sarcasm. "Look, Xena I may not be sure of when, but this Empire is going to fall. It's a fact and there is nothing you can or should do to change it. We should not stick around."

"Well we're going to, and that's final. If you know anything about me you should know that when I've made a decision I stick with it. Now, I don't want to hear another word about it."

With that they both walked into the room with Gabrielle and Eve. The two were chatting about Japa, but stopped when Xena and Sarah came upon them.

"Is everything ok?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yeah, it's all fine. We're going to stay here until tomorrow night. The general said it was the best time to make a move with Eve toward the docks and I agreed. So we'll be staying the night and attending dinner with the Emperor. Afterwards, Sarah will be staying with Eve and we'll be in the room right across from them just in case anything happens."

"Great!" Eve said moving to Sarah's side and taking her arm. "I haven't had anyone to talk to the entire time I've been here; company would be such a blessing."

The look Sarah gave Xena at that moment could have melted glass.

"I'm sure Sarah's just overjoyed as well, sweetie." The warrior said with a smirk.

Dinner was interesting enough in itself. No one had any idea the Emperor was going to be that old. The man could barely speak, let alone introduce Xena and Gabrielle. Therefore it was his son who had to make a big deal of their being there. Once dinner was served it was he that conversed with his two important guests over the affairs of the country. Hard as she tried Sarah couldn't hear everything he was saying because of the distance away from the young prince and the incessant chatter in her ear coming from Eve.

"So where exactly are you from Sarah? Your clothing is the likes of which I've never seen before and I've done quite a bit a traveling..."

"Yeah, especially in your warlord days right?" Sarah asked hoping it would shut her up. "I mean you covered a lot of ground when you were fighting for Rome. I'd love to hear about all the places you visited."

Eve got a sullen look on her face. "Um, actually I don't really like to relive those memories. They're quite painful for me now." She said pushing her food around on her plate.

"I understand." Sarah said, trying to sound sincere. Mission accomplished. She thought to herself. Then she turned her attention to the conversation Xena was having with the Emperor's son.

"So what exactly is the problem you're having with them?" Xena asked the prince about the peasants.

"Well, the Empire is not in the greatest shape as far as our resources go. One of the first actions taken by my father was to enact laws prohibiting the sale of lands. Land now passes down from family to family. The peasants who have fields with failing crops simply do not wish to move outside of the simple farming life that they are accustomed to." He explained.

"So they're starving?" Sarah asked.

"Well, yes, you could say that; but only certain people. You see, food has become a more precious commodity, so the prices have greatly increased. You can still find something to eat if you have enough money to pay for it. The peasants simply choose to steal and fight rather than work a bit harder to earn their keep."

"Yes, I can see here that everyone in the country is suffering from the pangs of hunger." Sarah said, taking a gulp of her wine and gesturing towards the overly impressive amount of food before them.

It looked like Xena was ready to crawl across the table and strangle her for that remark.

"I'm sorry your highness, you must forgive my friend. She's been on a long journey and has obviously forgotten her manners." The warrior said.

"Not to worry Xena. She has the sentiments of my father. He too has a soft spot for the peasants, not seeing their aptitude for violence. The same violence that your own daughter might have faced." The prince said.

"And we are very grateful to you for saving her." Xena said.

"Why, it was the honor of our country to help the great Xena who saved us so many years ago. I only regret that we do not take retribution on them now and get it over with. At this point all the escalations can lead to is war."

"NO WAR!" The emperor yelled clearly and loudly as he stood up straight.

The entire table got quiet; everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Yes, father, of course." The young prince said. "I was making an unintelligent statement, please forgive me." Finally after a few seconds he gently pulled the old man back to his seat.

Sarah took a sip from her wine and looked at Xena to gauge her reaction. The warrior, though angered from the prompting by Sarah, could see what was going on between the father and son. The old man was obviously not alert enough to be Emperor anymore, and the son was trying to do whatever he could to start a war to suppress the resistance. The rest of the dinner was eaten in a tense silence that was finally broken by the young prince.

"Now, if our honored guests would move into the arena the evening's entertainment will commence." He said, helping the Emperor out of his seat.

They all moved into the impressive indoor arena. The seats weren't nearly filled to capacity which led them to believe that tonight's entertainment was a grand spectacle meant for the most prestigious citizens of Chin, not the small entourage that accompanied Xena followed by a gaggle of nobles that were invited to dinner. Xena's arrival must have been truly respected for the Emperor to have gone to all this trouble.

As they took their seats Sarah chose one at the very end of the row. Eve moved to sit next to her, but was quickly stopped by Xena.

"Why don't you let me sit next to Sarah, sweetie, then you can sit between Gabrielle and I."

Eve looked at her quizzically. Xena was acting a little more touchy feely than normal.

Seeing the strange look on Eve's face Xena decided to explain a little further.

"We've just missed you so much, is all." She said, grabbing Eve in a one armed hug.

"Ok." She said, moving over to give Xena room.

Sarah, knowing that this wouldn't be a pleasant chat fired back, "Xena don't you think it would be nice if I had a little more time to get to know Eve; we are sharing a room and all?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to talk later." This time it was Gabrielle who spoke. And Sarah knew that if both warrior and bard were teaming up against her she better cut out the attitude. "I want to get in as much time with her as I can before we head off to bed." She said with a smile and directed Eve into another conversation, giving Xena the opening she needed to chastise Sarah.

Once the young messenger's attention was occupied the barrage of finger pointing and verbal assaults commenced with Xena and Sarah.

"Those were some nice table manners you showed us back there." Xena said through the gritted teeth of a fake grin. "Did you really think insulting the ruling people of this land was the best way to make sure Eve stay's protected?"

"Xena, I-" she was cut off.

"You what, Sarah? Couldn't hold your tongue for one dinner? Let me explain something; we are here to do one thing and that is get Eve home safely. What part of that plan made you think it would be ok to insult the very people who are protecting her? And what is the big problem here anyway? So what if you don't like the way the peasants are being treated, you already know they're going to overthrow the Emperor." Xena said with a snarl.

"Look, it's not like I'm trying to lead the revolution myself, but you have to understand that it's not that easy for me to simply overlook the way the masses are being treated when I have a chance to say something about it. You don't know what it's like in my time. There are so many people that the only way to have a voice is if you have money or power and I had neither. But tonight I was sitting at the table with a scummy dictator and I had the chance to say something so I took it. And believe me what came out of my mouth was much more mild than I would have preferred." Sarah said in her own defense.

Xena ran a hand through her bangs and then down her face as tried to find a delicate way to placate her young, aspiring hero.

"Sarah," She said putting a gentle hand to the girl's knee. "I know how important it is to stand up to bad men. I've spent half my life doing just that. But something I've learned is that sometimes the greater good is found in the ones you love. Is it important to save as many people as you possibly can? Of course it is. But as much as you wish it would fulfill you like family, it won't. You could save everyone that came in your path, but they still can't hold you at night, or stand by you when the rest of the world hates you. They won't always be there for you. And as selfish as it is to want that stability, it's what makes us human. Not these soulless heroes that save the world without being a part of it."

"C'mon Xena, I've read Gabrielle's scrolls. Since when have you ever put anything before the greater good?" Sarah asked.

"Since now." Gabrielle answered, not being able to keep herself from intervening. And it was in a tone that was not to be questioned. "From now on my greater good is the people that we love." Gabrielle turned towards Xena and gave her a look that said that no matter what had happened in the past, they were still on the same side. Leaving no doubt that the next time they were alone a long, welcoming talk would be in order.

Eve had no idea what was going on, but luckily the conversation was tabled as the Prince started to announce what the entertainment for the night was to be.

"In honor of Xena and Gabrielle, revered friends to the people of Chin, we present a tradition made popular by the Greek people: a challenge of the Gladiators."

He paused for applause and continued once he was satisfied with the response.

"To your right we have the most revered fighter in Mang arena. Once a barbarian from the north, this human weapon now bows down to the emperor's might and fights for our favor. For the enjoyment of our guests, I give you Rada: the undefeated."

The crowd burst into a raucous bout of cheers as the warrior came out of the gates. But to the surprise of Xena and her crew, the person before them was short, skinny and… female.

"Is that a…" Sarah said as Xena finished for her.

"Girl." The older woman said as she looked on in awe.

Though Rada's size may have thrown them off, her demeanor fit the Prince's description perfectly. She came out punching into the air and shouting what were no doubt obscenities in a foreign tongue. Before moving to her corner to allow the announcement of the next contestant she launched an impressive amount of spit at his gate. The prince grinned in acceptance, and then continued.

"To your left you will see Liu Xiu. Former member of the defeated Han dynasty and conquered prisoner of the Xin dynasty." He said with a leer

Rounds of "boos" emanated from the small contingency of nobles as the young man made his way into the arena. He looked defeated already, but even so a great challenge for the slight, but muscular woman before him.

"Warriors will bow to the Emperor." The prince said, and both turned to bow.

"Warriors will bow to each other."

As they both moved to bow the woman quickly rose back up and kicked the sand that covered the floor into the man's face. He lurched back and quickly swiped at his eyes in an attempt to remove the burning grit. The crowd cheered on and the Prince smiled, pleased, as he commanded them to fight.

It was at this point that Sarah remembered a very integral part to the PowerPoint history lesson Janice had given her before leaving home.

"Oh holy shit, Xena. That's…"

"Quiet Sarah or you'll appear even ruder than you were at dinner." The warrior whispered.

"But, Xena that's…"

"I said shut your mouth if you want to keep it functional."

Deciding that retaining use of her mouth was most definitely in her best interest; Sarah bit her tongue and watched the fight.

The remarkable thing about it was that though the girl was certainly out matched as far as stature went, she fought with a passion that was lethal. Every punch seemed to hold a ferocity that had been ingrained from a plethora of intense life experience. She took her opponents punches with equal fervor, allowing only a grunt to escape her lips before sneering and launching herself headlong into the fight again.

Though the man fought with a great deal of skill and grace, it was apparent that his heart was not in the fight. He had obviously been defeated and demoralized to the point of giving up and with that did not stand a chance against the fierce Slavic warrior.

He'll be ok, though. Sarah thought, almost feeling sorry for the man as his attacks started loosing their edge.

Within minutes he was at the point where simply standing was becoming difficult. As the sweat soaked his body and blood streaked his face the girl moved in for the kill. With a swift back kick she hit him so hard his body turned in mid air as he fell flat on his face. The fight was over, and the victor was staring proudly at the crowd.

The young prince rose from his seat in order to command his champion.

"Finish him." He said sternly.

And with a nod she moved to do just that.

"Xena, this can't happen." Sarah said with even more urgency than before.

"Hush Sarah." Xena countered.

"God damn it." Sarah yelled as she bounded out of her chair and over the steep railing separating her from the ring. At break neck speed she barreled toward the slight form that was hunched over the beaten man.

Rada had planned on simply breaking Liu's neck and calling it a day. What she did not plan on was one of the Emperor's guests tackling her to the ground from behind.

"Oh for the love of Zeus." Xena said as she followed the path taken by her new 'pain in the ass.' As she quickly made her way over to the scene she grabbed Sarah by the scruff of her neck as if she were a puppy.

"Kid, you better start listening to me when I tell you sit down and shut up." She said in a low voice as she started to drag her back to her seat.

"And you better listen to me right now, you stubborn oaf. That guy back there is Lui Xui, leader of the peasant rebellion against the Xin dynasty. If you'd been listening to my history lesson back at the inn in Japa, instead of brooding obnoxiously in front of Gabrielle you would know that. He has to stay alive." Sarah said quietly as they moved toward the crowd. "Now you've got about five seconds to make up a convincing enough reason for that crazed Russian mutant not to kill him, or the entire future could pay the price."

Xena paused for just a second to collect her thoughts then moved closer to the emperor and threw Sarah to the ground.

"Emperor, I ask that you accept my deepest apologies for the actions of my friend here. You see the violence was upsetting my daughter Eve and Sarah was simply trying to alleviate some of her emotional distress. She meant no disrespect to you."

The emperor looked at Xena for a moment in deep thought, then gave a mild grunt of approval for her apology and amusement at her daughter's sensitivities.

"The emperor accepts your apology." The son said. "With hopes that you will forgive him for the unacceptable form of entertainment. The man will be spared as a gift to your daughter and shall remain in the palace prison for the rest of his days."

"You're kindness is greatly appreciated, my lord." Xena said, as she exhaled a small sigh of relief and picked Sarah back up, dragging her away. "And now, with your permission of course, we will all retire to our rooms in search of a good night's rest."

With that they all exited the arena.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow." Xena said, angrily. "For tonight, just try to do what you came here for and protect my daughter."

"Whatever." Sarah growled, jerking herself out of Xena's grasp.

The warrior held her tongue, too tired to continue a pointless conversation. Sarah had that youthful spark that could fan the flames of an argument all night and Xena just didn't want to deal with it. They departed from each other eagerly. Sarah stalked off to her room with a confused Eve following a few steps behind as Gabrielle sidled up to Xena.

"I must say it's pretty obvious whose genetic line that one stems from." Gabrielle said to Xena with a playful jab to the side.

"Oh believe me; your descendant had plenty of influence on her from what I can tell." Xena fired back jokingly as she put an arm around the bard and led her back to their room.

By the time Eve reached her room Sarah had already brought out her staff and was drilling in the spacious accommodations. She decided it wasn't the best time to bring up what just happened and instead started talking about the reason she'd been traveling all around Asia in the first place in hopes to calm the girl down.

"Have you ever heard of Eli, Sarah?" The messenger said in a tone that was all too familiar to Sarah.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Sarah said under her breath as she slapped a hand to her forehead.

"What was that?" Eve asked.

"I said I've heard of him." Was the quick response she got as Sarah started her drills again.

"Well, please allow me to tell you about his message, then?"

With a low grow she thought over her options. She could listen to the whole schpeel now and get it over with, or she could delay the inevitable and let it hang over her head for the next couple of days. Better to get it over with now and let her get her little pitch out of the way.

"I'm listening." She said begrudgingly.

Inside Xena and Gabrielle's room there was a careful silence being maintained. The small, but important words that had been spoken earlier in the arena were permeating the air and both women were trying to choose their words carefully in hopes of continuing the conversation.

"You know," Gabrielle started "that was good advice you gave to Sarah back there."

Xena looked at her quizzically. I remember berating her, but the advice part isn't ringing a bell. The warrior thought.

Taking her cue from Xena's confusion, the bard continued. "Um, when you said that sometimes the greater good is found in the ones you love."

"Oh, yeah, well I should have learned to practice what I preach a long time ago, huh?" Xena said solemnly. "Gabrielle the only time I want to fight from here on out is to protect you and Eve. I know you wanted to go home to the Amazons and rule as queen, and I'm telling you right now that I'd be honored to live with you there."

"But Xena I know you, you hate being tied down to one place. I'd never want you to change for me."

"I'm not changing for you; I'm changing because of you." She put a hand to the bard's face, her thumb stroking her cheek. "Gabrielle, I have wandered for so long because I never thought I'd be able to have a home again. So all I could do was focus on redeeming myself through actions. Well, as much as I hate to admit it I'll never be able to help enough people to redeem myself. My past will always be there. But even though I can't make up for my past, I did find my home along the way and it's with you. Wherever you are is where I want to be. That is if you'll still have me."

"I don't want to tie you down, Xena." She said with conviction, then jokingly finished. "Besides you'd never make it with the Amazons. They'd drive you to murder again."

"I want to be with you Gabrielle, and I want to be there for a long time. Whether it's with the Amazons or in some musty old cave. I want to grow old with you and that's something I never thought about doing even by myself. So if you'll have-" She was cut off by the sweetest lips she'd ever tasted; ones that she was happy to reacquaint herself with.

"… So you see the path of non-violence is attainable for anyone. You simply must choose that path and work hard to not deviate from it."

"Uh-huh." Sarah said whilst finishing off her staff drills. She was trying to be civil to Eve, she really was. But she was also sure that the dark haired woman could sense her hostility.

She was right. Eve sighed and finally stated, "I get the feeling that you don't like me."

Sarah wondered how to work around that.

"Maybe I just don't talk much." She finally said as she twirled the staff.

"You didn't seem to have a problem expressing yourself at dinner."

This finally forced the drill to a halt. Sarah turned and walked a few steps away from Eve.

"You're right Eve. I don't have a problem talking at all. My problem lies in the people who don't fight oppression. Don't get me wrong, I like the politics of the tree hugging flower children. I don't like wars because they are violent, I don't eat meat because it's cruel, and I try real hard to turn the other cheek when faced with petty aggression. But what I don't put up with are people like you who live this life of piety so they can feel better about themselves. Violence is a necessary evil because people are evil. If I see someone beating a child to death in the street and my only means of stopping them is violence I'm going to fuck their world up. And whether you like to admit it or not violence has kept you alive plenty of times so you can go forth and spread Eli's precious message, all so it can get corrupted and used to control people. You support a religion; religion is based on fear and ignorance. No matter how good the message is. And one day even Eli's message is going to be used to oppress people. And it'll be people like me who stand up against that oppression."

Eve stood there silently for a few seconds watching Sarah's jaw clench and unclench.

"So you do like to talk?" Eve said, antagonistically, as if she were simply making an observation, ignoring the passion behind Sarah's speech.

Sarah rolled her eyes at this and started toward the bathing chambers. Eve was behind her before she reached the door and grabbed her by the arm to turn her around.

"There are too many things about you that just don't add up." She said with a hint of anger in her voice. "Your clothes, your mannerisms, your language. And don't think for a second I believe that story about you being old friends with my mother. By the looks of you I'd say you were quite a few years younger than me and that would mean Xena and Gabrielle were asleep and frozen in the Arctic wasteland the entire course of your never said a word to me about you before and I want to know just who you really are."

Sarah looked down from Eve's eyes to the arm that was firmly in the woman's hand and said coyly, "You'll have to beat it out of me." She then yanked the appendage away from Eve and stormed toward her destination, leaving the Messenger to her thoughts in the bedroom. She decided to meditate in an effort to calm her nerves.

Inside the bathing chambers there was a large tub with a spout above it. A rope hung next to the spout and Sarah decided to give it a small tug. Within seconds steaming water started pouring from the spout into the tub.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Sarah said with delight as she held down the rope until the tub was nearly filled to the rim.

She then grabbed one of the vials sitting on the ledge and poured an ample amount in the water. Stirring it with her hand then quickly pulling the appendage out due to the heat. The bubbles started to form as she disrobed and slowly lowered herself in, letting her skin adapt to the heat.

Just as the relaxing properties of the water started to take effect she felt hands on her head and Eve's voice speaking in a language she had never heard before. If she had turned around she would have noticed the blank stare plastered to the messenger's face as she spoke in the ancient tongue, but Sarah was preoccupied with slipping lower into the water so that all of her unmentionables were easily covered by the bubbles.

"Hello! Ever heard of privacy?" She said with a voice that was much higher than her normal alto.

Eve gave no reaction; she simply kept her hands in place on Sarah's head and continued with the strange monologue.

"I swear if this is some kind of fucked up forced baptism thing I'll drown you in this tub."

Still there was no response.

Should I just wait this out and see what happens? I hope it's not some weird sexual thing. Is she even allowed to be sexual under all the weird stipulations her title inflicts upon her?

As she continued the argument in her mind, she noticed that the hands on her head were removed and the unintelligible speech had silenced. She turned to see Eve slowly making her way back to the bedroom.

"So that's it" Sarah yelled. "You just come in here, interrupt my bath and start speaking some mumbo jumbo above my head without so much as an explanation?"

There was still no answer from the dark haired messenger.

"What a freak!" Sarah said as she gave up relaxing in the tub for a quick scrub down.

Once finished she dressed in the pajamas she'd packed in her sack, grabbed her brush and moved into the room.

Eve was sitting in the lotus position and obviously deep into the trance of meditation.

As Sarah ran the brush through her damp hair as she moved closer to the other woman. Once she was within arms reach, she noticed small movements starting to spark her out of the trance.

"Can I help you?" Eve said, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, you can tell me just what the hell was going on in the bathroom back there."

"I would assume that whatever transpired in there is your business, not mine."

"Well, see it was my business until you traipsed in there and started speaking in tongues over my head."

At this point the messenger opened her eyes in disbelief and stood up.

"I did no such thing." She said indignantly.

"Are you fucking with me or are you telling me you honestly don't remember what happened barely five minutes ago?" Sarah asked.

"I'm not going to even pretend that I know exactly what you just said, but I assure you I don't have any recollection of coming into the bathing chamber while you were in there."

The sincerity in her reaction confused Sarah even more. She really did believe that Eve didn't remember anything.

"Well, you were damn deep into your little meditation because you walked straight into that room, put your hands on my head, and said a bunch of words that I didn't recognize."

Eve looked deep in thought for a moment before she spoke.

"What do you think it means?" She asked.

"Nothing. Just that you probably had a long day, passed out while you were meditating, and sleep walked into the bathroom speaking gibberish." She said as she moved to pull her side of the large bed down.

"No, I don't think so. When I put my hands on something and speak, it's usually to perform some kind of miracle." She said, walking over to the bed as well.

"Well I'm not trying to say your hands don't do "special things", sweetie, but the earth certainly did not move. You didn't even get so much as some bubbles in the water." She said sarcastically.

"Fine, let's just go to bed." Eve said dismissively. Something was definitely going on, but she figured she would just have to wait and find out what that something was.

The room was dank and the smell of alcohol assaulted the prince's nose as soon as he walked in. He wrinkled his nose with distaste. Dealing with thugs was not normally within the realm of his patience, but tonight he had an important task to assign.

Moving over to the snoring figure he gave a swift kick to the stomach, causing a rank cough to invade his nostrils. Once the coughing stopped, Slavic curses assaulted his ears. It was only when the Gladiator realized who had invaded her cell that she stopped and moved back.

"Rada. You pathetic, drunken, dog. You can't even kill the simple bait I sent out to you tonight." He said then spit on her shoes.

Anger boiled under her skin. Her fists tightened and every muscle connected followed suit as she let this spoiled weakling talk to her. She didn't say a word, simply looked at him through the dark bangs that curtained her eyes.

"I should have you killed where you stand." He started circling her as he spoke. "Lucky for you I have decided to give you one more chance to earn the wasted breath that flows through your body."

She knew he was waiting for her to inquire into her further uses, but she stayed quiet and patient.

"Ughh. Your mysterious silence does not impress me and I'm bored with this conversation already. Here is what I want. Eve, daughter of Xena, has been placed in a special room. It is connected to the slave quarters in which you should thank whatever barbaric god you worship for letting you live in. I want you to sneak through the connecting tunnels, kill Eve and the ungrateful bitch that is protecting her, and come back here so that no one is ever the wiser. If you are caught I will kill you on the spot without even a second thought. If you succeed I will continue to allow you to live this worthless, booze soaked existence that you seem to subside on."

She still continued to stare at him; imagining a number of ways to torture him. The silence would have to be enough for now.

"Does the animal understand?" He asked, demeaning her.

She gave the smallest nod of comprehension and watched as he stormed out of the cell, dropping a knife and making sure to leave the door open. She wiped the blood from her palms where her finger nails dug in and bent over to pick up the knife. She wouldn't want it to slip as she slit the girls' throats.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Your Kind of Coward

I hate this part. We've done it so many times before. It's that point in a relationship where you've had a serious argument and you've already resolved the issue, but you haven't had time to really reconnect. It used to be easier when it was just the two of us, with no real responsibilities. If we needed time together we would just set up camp somewhere secluded in the woods, or board ourselves up in a room for a couple of days doing nothing but eat, sleep, and make love. We would even have long talks about how to avoid hurting each other the same way in the future. It may seem to other people that Xena doesn't talk very much, but she can say some of the most beautiful things when she's with me.

The problem with all of this is that the emotions lay dormant and start to ferment inside your soul. It's a lot like fruit; you don't want to eat it when it's too young, but you also don't want to wait until it's gone rotten. Making up is all about timing, and finding that one point where both of you quit allowing the distractions to keep rolling in out of fear that you won't be able to recover from the recent infractions against each other. I have to admit that the worst time this ever happened was after I found out Xena was pregnant with Eve. By the gods, the things I said to her that night were probably some of the most brutal words I've ever uttered. I just would not believe her. I mean, how could I? We'd been committed to each other for years and then suddenly she tells me that she has a child growing inside her and she doesn't know how it got there! But she was able to shut me up with one question.

"Before tonight did you ever think it would be possible for me to cheat on you?" She asked me.

And as much as I wanted to tell her that I'd had my suspicions, I couldn't. There wasn't one moment that I ever thought it was possible for her to go outside our relationship.

"No." I said without another word.

We didn't say anything else about it after that. We also weren't physically intimate for months. Both of us decided to just keep things platonic until Eve was born, and then figure out if we could still be together afterwards. Xena certainly couldn't be alone throughout the dangerous circumstances of her pregnancy, and afterwards the whole world seemed to be against us. Luckily any kind of separation was impossible; otherwise we may never have reconnected. I secretly cherish the fact that I almost died on the riverbanks near those cannibals. It opened up an avenue to tell her how much I loved her.

But something happens with that time that you lose. If you stop looking at your partner as a lover it's almost like the security of your bond is somehow compromised. At some point everything seemed so right; that the stars aligned just so we could be together, then you lose that connection for a while and you start to think that nothing lasts forever. Coexistence without passion is like poison to a relationship and if you don't find the antidote soon enough it will just die.

"Hey, are you writing again?" Xena said with a smile as she towel dried her hair from the bath.

"Kind of." Gabrielle said as Xena moved to sit next to her at the foot of the bed. Earlier she'd taken the time to relax in the tub for a bit before giving it up to Xena and now they were both damp in their matching silk robes. That's what had prompted her musings about the current state of their relationship. Any other time they would have bathed together, but Xena was pretending to busy herself while the tub filled.

"What do you mean, kind of?" She asked. In truth she was trying to look busy because she didn't think she could control herself if she had to bathe with Gabrielle. The thought of being denied at this point was just too terrifying.

"Well, it's not really a scroll that I want other people to read, it's more of a journal, I guess." The bard said as Xena sat down next to her.

"Hmm." The warrior made the noise and looked thoughtfully at the bard.

"What?" Gabrielle asked.

"It's nothing." Xena said, breaking eye contact as she started to stand.

"No," Gabrielle stopped her. "You looked like you were thinking something."

Xena looked sat back down and looked at the bard again.

"It's just that you never cease to surprise me. Once I think I've got you figured out, you evolve into something else." She paused to let out a small chuckle. "But then again as much as you change, I still always feel the same way about you."

This could be it. Gabrielle thought. She just gave the opening and as long as we both say the right thing, right now we can come back together again.

"How do you feel about me?" The bard asked.

No, wait, that's not going to sound right. It's going to sound antagonistic. Fix it quick. She thought before quickly stammering what she meant.

"I mean, I know that you love me, but what are you feeling right now?"

"I," She was going to sugar coat things. Give Gabrielle some grandiose speech about how wonderful she was, but that just wasn't going to cut it here. The truth of that moment was what the bard wanted, and as imperfect as the truth was she was going to get it.

"I'm thinking that all I want to do is make love to you right now. And I want you to want me with that much enthusias. But I'm scared that you won't because you can't trust me just yet."

"Oh Xena, I do too, I…" Oh screw it! She thought as she threw her scroll down and climbed into the warrior's lap.

As their lips met she felt Xena wrap her arms around her and pull her in closer. The arms caressed her back sweetly at first, and then moved lower and sensually squeezed her ass. With that, Gabrielle ground her hips and Xena let out a moan as her hands removed the blonde's robe. She felt Xena grasp her legs and stand up to move them onto the bed. The bard was laid on her back with the strong warrior kissing her as she removed her own robe.

Once they were both naked hands moved with reckless abandon against soft skin. Xena kissed and nipped her way down until she was languidly licking and sucking at a breast. Gabrielle gasped and dug her fingers into Xena's damp hair. She allowed herself to enjoy the strong feelings that were so familiar, yet different every time. Then she quickly turned the tables and pushed Xena on her back, pressing a thigh between her legs and burying her head into the warrior's neck. Xena threw her head back in ecstasy and grabbed at the bards back.

"Gabrielle, I want you so much."

"I know. I can feel it." She said, rocking her hips for emphasis. "I want you too, Xena."

She didn't have to say it; Xena could see it in her eyes. She moved her hands to the sides of the bard's head and kissed her passionately. Once their tongues started moving together Gabrielle's became more insistent and it was clear exactly how the bard was going to prove her passionate fervor tonight. As if she'd been reading Xena's mind Gabrielle chose that moment to slowly break off and begin her journey down the smooth, toned body.

Xena had before expressed her appreciation of the bard's skill in this particular area of the bedroom. Her body was rocking in anticipation as Gabrielle licked around her bellybutton then moved between her thighs. Reconnecting herself with this area was easy; she knew it like the back of her hand. This would be a slow build up. Right now the most important people in the world were the two bound by those walls.

The lithe form pushed at the heavy paneling above her. This was obviously one of the floor tiles to the room holding the two women she was supposed to kill. Placing the knife between her teeth she silently pushed up against the cold granite and peeked through the small crack between it and the floor. She could see a large bed with two figures in it; one of them was snoring rather loudly while the other's slumber was more demure. With great patience she managed to move the heavy stone away from the hole enough to squeeze through.

In a crouched position she swiftly walked over to the bed while taking the knife back into her hand. She decided that the one who tackled her earlier in the evening would be the first to go because she was most likely to cause a commotion. If she killed her silently enough, the other woman would be very simple. Once she reached the side of the bed she realized that she had lucked out. The girl that pounced on her earlier in the evening was the snorer, and killing her first would mean less chance that the other one would wake up. She moved herself into position with one hand poised above the girl's forehead and the other wielding the knife above her throat. Just as she was about to bare down on both of them the girl on the other side of the bed stirred and looked sleepily over at the scene. She knew she had to act quickly before consciousness truly set in. With one swift movement she viciously swiped the knife against the throat.

"No!" Eve screamed as she witnessed the scene.

"YES!" Came the opposite response from the room across the hall.

"Oh, right there baby. Please don't stop!" Xena begged through ragged breath and she stroked the blonde head that was working so diligently to please her.

Gabrielle had teased her so much by this point that the very thought of her slowing down again for further torture was unbearable. But she didn't think that was going to happen. Gabrielle had a little quirk that would sometimes clue Xena in to the fact that she was ready to let her climax; it was a little noise in the back of her throat somewhere between a growl and a whimper. The warrior had no idea how she managed to make that sound, but in every case it was music to her ears. Tonight would only prove to strengthen her theory because Gabrielle was picking up her tempo, with no signs of slowing down.

"You're so good, Gabrielle." She said, eyes closed and head back on the pillow. One hand moved to clutch the bed post as the other stayed holding on to the bard's head. "So damn good."

As her hips began to move with a distinctive urgency she knew she wouldn't last much longer. Gabrielle's fervor increased as she clutched at the warrior's thighs; her own noises becoming almost as loud as the ones emanating from Xena. Within moments the warrior's hips and moans reached their precipice and slowly started to float back down. Gabrielle adjusted the strokes of her tongue accordingly and eased Xena into blissful haze. Once the tremors had ceased the blonde made her way back up the body the same way she had traveled down it. Only the kisses this time were more loving and less sexual. Crawling to rest on Xena's shoulder she threw an arm and a leg over the sweat soaked body.

"That was beautiful, sweetheart." The warrior said as she stroked and kissed the blond head resting just beneath her chin.

"It was my pleasure." Gabrielle said as a soft, contented smile graced her lips.

Xena allowed a predatory smirk to paint her face.

"On the contrary, love," she said while moving to rest half on top of the bard. "Your pleasure is just about to begin."

After the swift cut with the knife Rada quickly made her way to shut up the long haired brunette before she got any louder and the whole castle was in the room. Using the strength in her legs she leapt onto the bed stepping over the dead woman and lunging herself onto the other target. Eve used the force to throw her over her head and moved quickly to the other side of the bed.

"Why are you doing this?" She yelled as the girl regained her footing and stood up, preparing to strike again. They stayed like that for a few seconds, just staring when suddenly Sarah sat up groggily in bed.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked, confused. She was disturbed by the two women jumping around on the bed. Then she looked around and saw Eve to her left and the gladiator to her right, seemingly at a stand-off.

"You're alive!" Eve exclaimed, moving closer and yanking her out of the bed so that they were both separated from the assassin.

"Ow, shit!" Sarah exclaimed after hitting her head on the floor from Eve's drag and pull tactic.

"We're in danger; she's come to kill us." Eve said pulling Sara to her feet and dragging her even further back.

Rada saw their retreat and bounded over the bed, knife in hand. How did I miss the snoring girl? She thought. I felt the knife slide against her throat. She should be dead.

As soon as Rada made her advance Sarah sprang into defensive mode. She saw her bag within arms length and grabbed at the softball bat sticking out of it. Swinging with more fury than accuracy she forced her attacker back a few steps.

"Eve, go get Xena!" She said.

"Are you crazy, she'll tear you apart before I even reach their door!" Eve said, worried.

Sarah swung again and fired back, "Yeah, well you're certainly not going to talk her out of this, I don't think she can understand a word we're saying."

Before she knew what was happening she was being tackled by the aggressor. It felt like she'd been hit by a ton of bricks. The bat fell from her hand as she was straddled and stabbed in the gut.

"I understand you just fine, bitch." Rada said coldly.

Oh god, this is it. I'm about to die. She thought as the air escaped her body.

Eve cringed as another blow was struck into Sarah's stomach. It was followed by two more before the attacker stopped and stood up; moving in on Eve. The messenger backed up until she was stopped by the wall; the door inches away, but too far to reach at this point. She was breathing hard when she felt the knife at her neck and saw the dark eyes boring into her own. She wasn't attacking right away, which was a small relief to Eve. Maybe she could talk her way out of it.

"Someone probably heard me screaming just a second ago. It would be more beneficial for you to leave now rather than waste time killing me." She said firmly, with little fear showing through.

Rada put her left hand on the wall to the side of her prey and let most of her weight rest there as she brought her body closer to Eve.

"No, one's coming for you, princess. That's already been taken care of." She said with a thick accent intertwined with alcohol breath. She moved the knife lower; following a path to the top of Eve's bodice.

"So, what; you're just going to rape me now, then slit my throat after you've had your fun?" The messenger said through gritted teeth.

Rada brought her eyes back up to meet Eve's.

"No, I don't do that. I was just thinking what a waste it is to kill something so beautiful." Rada said. Eve thought she would have been charming if she weren't so obviously psychotic. "But you have to die, beautiful or not. I'll give you a couple of seconds to pray if you like."

Eve said nothing, just looked down at the floor as she felt the knife being readied for attack. The sound of a vase breaking made her refocus her gaze to the woman in front of her. To her great surprise it was not her dark assailant.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." Sarah said, with a small smirk as she looked down at the unconscious gladiator.

The warrior bit down on the bard's shoulder as she entered her slick opening. Gabrielle wrenched her head back and moaned in pleasure at the delicious sensations. She was straddling Xena, who was sitting up and grasping at the bard's back with her free hand; trying to keep up with the undulating hips.

"Xena." Gabrielle said, putting her hands on the warrior's face and moving in to kiss her soundly. Their tongues dueled for a while before Xena strengthened the enthusiasm of her thrusts and hastened the strokes of her thumb on the bard's clit.

"Mmm, I love you, Xena." She said digging her hands into the warrior's scalp, and resting her cheek on the dark bangs.

"I love you too Gabrielle, so much." She said as she licked and nipped at the bard's collarbone.

Then within moments every muscle in the bard's body was tense in preparation for her climax. This was Xena's cue to put more fervor into her thumb strokes, and add slower more distinct thrusts to her fingers. This level of communication was extremely heartwarming to Xena when they were in the throes of passion. At the moment it was simply a matter of functionality, but later, when they were lying in bed together she would reflect on the countless moments of love making that brought them to this level of joint intuition. But right now she could tell that Gabrielle was right on the cusp of orgasm.

"It's ok sweetheart, just let go." She told her in a lower octave than normal.

It was when a litany of incoherencies started to flow loudly from Gabrielle's mouth that Xena realized how much she liked the vocal part of their relationship as well.

Little did they know, Eve was standing outside, hand poised to knock and mouth open in shock. Quickly, she lowered the appendage and quietly walked back to her own room.

Sarah was tying the unconscious Slav to one of the legs at the foot of the bed. Trying to keep her sitting up, while securing her hands was more difficult than she thought. When she finally finished she noticed Eve entering the room alone.

"Are they coming?" Sarah asked, confused as to why she did not wait on the warrior and bard.

"Actually that's the problem." Eve said, uncomfortable with the irony of the situation. "They're busy right now."

"Busy? What are you talking about it's the middle of the…Oooohhh." She said as her eyes grew large. "Right, so we're just gonna have to do this interrogation thing without the pinch."

They both looked at the unconscious woman.

"Just as soon as she wakes up." Sarah said, hoping she would wake up soon so they could change the conversation.

"Well, while she's out we have something else very important to talk about." Eve said, putting a hand on Sarah's shoulder in an attempt to get the girl to face her. "I saw her stab you just moments ago, and I watched her slit your throat while you were sleeping. But now," she lifted Sarah's sleep shirt to see nothing more than smooth skin. "There's not a scratch on you."

"Hey, hey, hey! Have a little respect here." Sarah said, pulling her shirt down. "I wasn't awake for the throat slitting, but I will admit that the gut stabbing has got me scratching my head." Moving away from the bed she traced the spot near the door where the knife had fallen and bent down to pick it up. She studied it carefully, stabbing it into wall test its integrity. It did not disappoint in its sturdiness. She then pricked her finger with the tip, watching the blood balloon on her skin. Wiping it off on her shirt she felt the holes where the knife had passed through just moments before.

I shouldn't be breathing right now. Sarah thought, extreme confusion settling into her furrowed brow.

"Has anything like this ever happened to you before?" Eve asked her.

Sarah chuckled. "No, not unless I slept through prior knife attacks in addition to this one." She continued to stare at the knife. "I felt the pressure of her blows. It was like she was punching me in the gut, but with a knife. There's no way she could have missed, I have holes in my shirt." Turning the knife in her hand, she pointed it at her stomach and held it with both hands connected to tense arms.

"Tell me you're not thinking about stabbing yourself. I thought you were smarter than this." Eve said as her eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Oh, I wouldn't ever bet on that hand." Sarah said, staring at the blade.

Can I do this? Sarah thought. Can I really stab myself? I was fine when she did it, so in theory it should work.

"You're positive you saw her stab me?" She asked, looking up at Eve.

"I'm sure of it, but that doesn't mean…" She was cut off by a gasp in her throat as she watched Sarah swiftly plunge the blade into her stomach and fall to her knees.

Rushing to her side, Eve grasped the girl's shoulder and waited to see what damage had been done. But just as before, as Sarah slowly pulled the knife away there was no blood and no visible wound. They both just sat there dumbfounded.

"This just isn't possible." Sarah said.

Eve thought for a few minutes, and then spoke. "Maybe it was the prayer. You know from when you were in the bath tub? Maybe it made you completely invulnerable to harm."

"Aw that's ridiculous." Sarah said.

"When I was cleansed in the ocean Mother attained the power to kill gods, when Gabrielle was possessed I made the demon come out, and then I made a crack in the world big enough to allow entrance into hell. I think history will prove that it's not such a preposterous idea." Eve said with annoyance tinting her voice.

"Yeah, well I wasn't there for any of these miracles and I'm not the kinda girl that just takes things on faith. Plus I know I can still get hurt. I just used this knife to prick my finger. I'm not invulnerable to any attack." Sarah said showing her the digit in question. "It seems the mortal wounds are the ones I'm impervious to."

Their semi-argumentative chat was cut short by the bound gladiator who had just awakened.

"Ladies, ladies. Can we please focus on me now? I've got a splitting headache and would like either to die or try to make my escape from the palace." Startled, Eve and Sarah turned around quickly and paid attention to their captor.

"We're not going to kill you." Eve said.

"Well you might not, but I guarantee you I'll be dead by the end of the night all the same." Rada said nonchalantly.

"So you came to kill us because you would be killed if you didn't?" Sarah asked, amazed at how well the interrogation was going with simple words.

"Well, well, well. She's not only super human; she can utilize logic as well. I'm so impressed." The captive said, resting her head against the bed.

Sarah was quiet for a moment as she realized the gladiator was making fun of her.

"You know, I think I like her." Eve said randomly to Sarah, who simply glared back then refocused her attetion.

"Ok smart ass, so who wants you to kill us?" Sarah asked.

"Eh, you're not as perceptive as I would have hoped. But I'll make it easy for you, here. Obviously someone in the royal family wants to go to war; a task that would be made much easier if he had a certain warrior princess on his side. Now I would imagine that Xena would be very inclined to fight if her precious daughter were found dead in the castle with a peasant knife lodged in her chest." She nodded toward the blade that Sarah still clutched in her hand. "Can you see where I'm going with this?"

"So it's the prince." Eve said.

"You got it. So are you going to kill me now, or are you going to have pity on me and give me a chance to escape?" Rada asked.

Sarah crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

"Neither." She said moving closer to the assassin. "You're an impressive fighter and if you agree to help us out, you can have not only your freedom, but a chance to get back at the people who captured you."

"What?" Eve asked.

"I want to see that guy whose ass you so thoroughly kicked today. If you take me to him I'll convince the prince to let you live." Sarah said, ignoring Eve.

"You can't just make that decision." Eve said. "We need to speak with mother and Gabrielle first."

"And what about the second part of this deal?" Rada said, also ignoring Eve. "You gonna talk the Prince into giving himself over to me too? Because that will be much more impressive than your little trick with the knife earlier."

"I'll let you in on that once I see that I can trust you. That's the deal." She said, as she bent down in preparation to free her. "Take it, or leave it."

Rada squinted her eyes and looked into Sarah's as she made her decision.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice, now do I?" She lunged at Sarah's face and snapped her teeth, causing the girl to fall back and put the knife out in front of her in defense. The giggle that escaped from Rada at that moment was much more childlike than anyone would have expected.

"Ok, ok. I'll take you up on your offer." She said, still laughing.

Sarah exhaled the breath she was holding, picked herself up and moved again to release the gladiator.

"Tell me you aren't serious." Eve said as she watched the wild animal being set free. "Sarah, you can't just let her go, she tried to kill both of us. Do you think any part of that has changed in the last ten minutes?"

Once the ropes were severed Rada pushed herself to her feet, cracked her neck and moved toward Eve until she was in her face.

"Don't worry, baby. Between the two offers I've had tonight, this one is much better." She saw that Eve was about to speak and then put a finger to the messenger's lips. "Now don't ruin that pretty face by talking anymore. Me and the brave one over here have business to attend to." And with that she moved back to Sarah.

"I'll tell Xena!" Eve threatened in a last minute attempt to stop them.

It worked; both women turned to look at her then regarded each other with identical thoughts.

Sweat soaked bodies melded together and breathing started to slow as Xena and Gabrielle finally ceased their sexual efforts for the night.

"Mmm." The warrior sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how we ever go a day without this."

"Let alone the better part of a year." The bard agreed. She was referring to the sexual absence that persevered throughout Xena's pregnancy.

"Uggh! Don't remind me." She said, snuggling in closer to Gabrielle. "That was not only a depressing time, but a scary one too."

"I know. Just the thought of losing Eve sends chills down my spine now." The blonde gave a soft kiss to the shoulder she was resting her head on.

"I'll admit that was bad, but I was actually referring to you." Xena said.

Gabrielle thought for a moment about her next response. They had never once addressed the tension that existed between them during the months during and after the pregnancy. Carefully, she picked her words.

"I never could tell if you were afraid of us separating back then. I wanted to believe it, but there was always some instance that would make me doubt how much you cared for me. Sometimes I would get so depressed arguing with myself over a no win situation. One side of me would say that you had already started to move on, and the other said that you were being so inattentive because you arrogantly thought you could never lose me. There were just so many innocent little things you did that broke my heart that year."

Xena moved to brace herself on her elbow so she could look at the blonde while she spoke.

"Some of the things I did weren't so innocent, Gabrielle."

"What do you mean?" She asked with a furrowed brow.

"Pretty much anything that happened with Ares or Antony. I'm not proud of it, Gabrielle, but deep down I knew that I didn't have to use my sex appeal as much as I did with the two of them. I did it because I was trying to get a reaction out of you; even an angry one. I wanted you to confront me about it, so that maybe it would be possible for us to fight and make up the way we should have when you found out that I was pregnant with Eve. I played the scene a thousand times in my head. You would start yelling at me for flaunting my attraction in your face, then I would tell you that you had no right to be angry with me if you didn't want me and then…hopefully…" she said while softly stroking the bards face, "you would tell me that you did want to be with me and that if I ever kissed anyone else again you'd make them wish they were facing the Destroyer of Nations, rather than the Battling Bard of Potidaea."

Gabrielle smiled at this admission. Though it did denote a manipulative side to her lover it also freed her from so many terrible questions that she'd had from that period of their life together.

"And what happened after that in your imagination, 'Destroyer of Nations'?" She asked.

"I'd run over and kiss you passionately and then we'd spend the rest of the night proving just how much we belonged to each other." Xena said with a sexy grin, and then slowly let her face soften. "I am sorry that I hurt you with all of that, Gabrielle."

"And I'm sorry that instead of giving in to you, I decided to become more and more distant." She said, moving in for a chaste kiss to the Warrior's lips.

Xena deepened it just for a moment, and then pulled back in an effort to bank the fire that would surely build. With a great weight off her shoulders she settled back on to them and pulled the bard with her. Small bursts of air floated across her chest and made the most perfect metronome for her heartbeat to follow. Sleep came easier to the two women that night than it had in a very long time.

"Mghhhgmmhgmh gmhhgmhgh!"

"What was that? I couldn't understand you?" Sarah asked, mock confusion plastered across her face as she finished dressing to go downstairs.

"MGHGHGHMMMG MGHGHGHM!" Eve muffled again against the pillow case that was now a makeshift gag across her mouth.

"Yeah, see, I just can't make out what you're saying with that thing in your mouth. If your hands weren't tied you might be able to get it off, but I guess you should have thought about that before you decided to go tell Mommy on us, huh?" The young woman scoffed before sticking her new lucky knife into her belt; she would get a sheath for it later.

The child like laugh that was so misplaced on the assassin broke through the air again, as she finished making sure the ropes were secure.

"Ok, now like I said before, Rada and I are going to the dungeon to have a chat with the loser from tonight's fight. I just have to make sure that things are going to go…"

She almost said "according to history", but caught herself before it slipped and bent down to Eve's level.

"…the way I want them to. Now you are perfectly safe here because the bedroom door is locked and barricaded, and we will be passing through the only other way in or out of this room. I am perfectly safe because now, out of the blue, I've miraculously lost the ability to die. Once we're done down there we're gonna come back up here and let you loose. Any questions?"

"Mghhghgmmgm."

"Ha! Gotcha!" Sarah said, tweaking Eve's nose before moving to her feet and motioning for Rada to follow her.

"Lead the way, killer." She said after moving the heavy granite off of the opening in the floor.

After dropping down to follow Rada, Sarah noticed how incredibly dark it was through the passage way.

"How the hell were you able to see enough to get here?" She asked, pulling her Zippo out of her pocket and striking the flint.

"I didn't really; just kind of felt my way through. Of course I'm sure my eyes are better adapted to the dark than yours are. I've lived in a dungeon for quite a while now. It's been at least 3 years since I've seen the sun."

This stopped Sarah in her tracks.

"Are you serious?" She asked, not even being able to imagine what something like that could do to a person.

"Do you think anyone would joke about something like that?" Rada said matter-of-factly.

Sarah just shivered and continued following her guide. She started to wonder what other terrible things Rada had been through, but didn't dare ask. They were silent until they reached the lonely cell that held Liu Xiu.

"That's him." Rada said, making it a point to project how unimpressed she was.

The man barely even looked at them. He was lying curled on the floor trying to keep warm, but not having much luck with the small excuse for a blanket.

"Hey hero, you've got company! Wake up and show some respect." Rada yelled at him and banged on the bars.

"Shhhh! The guards will hear us." Sarah said with a staunch whisper.

"Heh. Are you kidding me? We could torture him to death and they wouldn't come in here. They don't care what happens to him." The slave said.

"Well, just keep it down to humor me from here on out." She said, turning toward the bars and grasping them. She didn't exactly know how she was going to conduct the conversation that needed to follow. It wasn't as if she could just say 'Hey, you still planning on overthrowing the Emperor? K, check ya later.' But she had to say something, otherwise things may have changed from that little stunt she pulled in the arena and Liu may have given up the dream.

"Liu Xiu." She said in her most "Mr. Miagi" tone, deciding confidence was the way to go.

"What do you want?" He asked, without so much as even looking at her.

"I'm sure you're tired of being treated this way by the men that conquered your masters. You are the only one left with the power to take back the thrown." She said, trying to play it cool.

"I don't care about taking back the throne. You must have me mistaken with someone else. All I want to do is die, something you prevented today." There was still little emotion in his voice.

"What if I told you that it was your destiny to rule the Chinese empire?" She asked, hoping he would take that bait.

"I'd say you were a fool." He countered.

Hmmph, she thought. I would have agreed with you a couple of days ago. Ok, new tactic, he wants to be a pain in the ass, I'll handle him like everyone handles me.

"Ok, cut the brooding hero routine." She said with disgust. "I am offering you a means of escape on a silver platter and you are so busy playing emo kid that you aren't even listening to me. Now, do you want to fight back against these fuckers or not?"

With a swiftness her eyes didn't register he got to his feet and punched an open hand toward her. A blast of some unseen force slammed into Sarah's gut and threw her against the bars to her back. After landing hard on the ground she caught her breath and stared up at him.

"If I wanted to get out of here, I wouldn't need your help to do it. I told you, I'm not interested. Now leave me alone before I throw you against something that will really hurt."

A thought quickly occurred to her and she spoke before she could think.

"You know Lao Ma's secrets."

"And I won't use them to try to win a war again." He said. "Now I told you to leave."

"Look, I can't do that. I have to somehow make you see that you must use this power to take down the Emperor. People are starving out there. There is so much civil unrest that soon these cells will be full of militia members. All they need to succeed is one little edge on the competition and your powers more that fit that mold."

He laughed at her.

"And what does a foreigner care about the peasants of Chin. How does it benefit you, because I know you're not doing it out of the goodness of your own heart?"

"I'm not." She said truthfully. "Part of me is doing it because I couldn't sleep at night knowing I left this place in the hands of that monster that will soon be in control. Honestly I'd say I care way more about your people than you do."

Mere seconds after the words came out of her mouth she was throttled even harder against the bars again. This time the force was stronger.

God, this is straight out of a scene from The Never Ending Story. She thought, as she picked herself back up and moved back to the bars. Holding on tight this time.

"How dare you presume to know how much I care for my people! It is for their safety that I do not strike out against the Emperor." He said, anger raging in his voice.

"Oh ho ho, the plot thickens." She said sarcastically. If this gets any more predictable I'm gonna start thinking that movie clichés may really be based in truth.

"Let me take a wild stab at the 'cryptic' message hidden under your statement. You probably studied Lao Ma's writings and figured out you had a knack for putting her powers to good use, but you knew you couldn't control them so well. After a while the fighting started to break out and you decided to throw caution to the wind and use the powers anyway. Now, I'm sure things worked out for a little while, but then one day the shit hit the fan and you bugged out killing not only the bad guys, but unintentionally nabbing a few of the good guys as well. How'm I doin' so far?"

He simply stared at her with tempered anger.

"Right." She said, continuing. "So after the ill-fated massacre you felt so bad that you vowed you'd never use this horrible power again. The battles were lost and the rest is history." She could tell that she was right and that that very fact made him angrier. "Don't worry, plenty of people hate the fact that I excel at being a smart ass."

Lui exhaled an unreadable breath, and then spoke.

"You may be right about a lot of things, but that doesn't mean you understand. I can't start a war, not after the way things ended during the last one."

"Believe me, honey; you won't have to be the one to start this war. The prince is almost foaming at the mouth for one. He tried to start it tonight by sending Rada to kill Xena's daughter, and if he'd succeeded he would have had the warrior princess on his side. It would have been nearly impossible for the peasants to come out victorious. War is coming whether you want it or not. The choice you have to make is whether or not you want to take the upper hand."

She waited for him to speak, but no words came. It was time to gamble and put a little more weight on his decision.

"Fine, you wanna sit this one out because of the past, then go ahead. Just remember that people are going to die whether you fight or not, and a lot less of those corpses would be the peasant army if you helped out. You are lying not only to me, but to yourself if you say you don't want to help. Let's go Rada."

As they both started to walk away Lui grasped the bars of his cell and called out to them.

"What part would you propose I play in the opposition?" He asked reluctantly.

Sarah smiled and turned around.

"A jail break for starters. Rally as many supporters as you can and use your convenient little gift to bust them out. Afterwards you'll probably be named the leader of the rebellion and you need to take that title. If all goes as it should you'll be able to take the castle at some point and Rada here will be more than happy to assist in taking out the prince. Actually I promised that to her, so you can pretty much take that off of your to do list." Sarah said with a look toward the confirming gladiator.

"You stupid little girl. How can you speak so casually about war?" He asked, loathing in his voice.

Sarah thought for a moment and was actually taken aback by the statement. He was right. Whether or not this was the way things were supposed to pan out she was the one who was putting history into motion. People would die because she prompted the violence. A feeling of extreme anxiety filled her stomach, but she quickly pushed it down, knowing that things had to happen this way.

"The destiny of your people is to thrive, not live in squalor and famine, and the part you play is the leader of the people. I know this for a fact. So my part in it really isn't that important."

"And you said that I was lying to myself; that may be the one thing we have in common." He looked deep into her eyes. She shivered with the honesty of his words and the coolness of his gaze. "I'll start with the jail break late tomorrow night, and go from there. Then I'll look for you afterwards and spread word to the peasants that you'll be helping in the fight."

This was something she hadn't even considered. She thought that all she would have to do was get the ball rolling.

"No, I have to leave tomorrow night. I didn't mean that I was going to be a part of the revolution." She said.

He let out an agitated puff of air and spoke. "So you're going to start all of this and not lift a finger to help. I don't believe I've ever come across your kind of coward."

She simply stared on at him, hating the fact that he was right.

"Look it's not my place, alright. I'm not that good in a fight anyway, it shouldn't change what you have to do." She started to walk away, but her elbow as roughly caught by his hand.

"Just be glad that I'm not as good as you at walking away." He said.

She jerked her arm away, and started toward the corridor that would lead back to her room.

"You know he's got a point." The Slav stated with detachment.

"Shut up, Rada." Sarah shot back with less enthusiasm than she herself expected. "It doesn't concern you."

"You're right." Rada said, dropping it.

Stomping through the corridor Sarah had to defend herself.

"Look I'd help if I could, but it's not my place." The anger was coming back now.

"Ok!" Rada said, again dropping the subject.

After a few more steps Sarah spoke again. "I have obligations; I have to make sure that Eve makes it back to Greece."

Rada made a noise in her throat that sounded like an annoyed growl.

"Could you please convince yourself that you're not a piece of shit later? I'm bored with this conversation already." She said before pushing her forward.

Sarah did exactly what she was told and pushed up on the panel that led to the room. As she raised her arms to push herself through a pair of rough hands yanked her onto the floor. She didn't have to look up to know that Xena was standing over her, most likely shooting daggers out of her eyes.

She was right.

"You've got about thirty seconds to give me good a couple of good reasons not to kill you." Xena said through clenched teeth.

"Heh." Sarah coughed and laughed at the same time. "Well you might have a hard time keeping your word on that in light of recent events." She thought joking might break the tension a little, but Xena barely flinched. Rada chose this moment to peek her head in.

"Speak for yourself." The gladiator said to Sarah, then focused on Xena. "Are you gonna kill me too if she's got a bad excuse?"

The warrior snarled and pulled her through as well and shoved her roughly on the floor. Rada stood up and complained.

"And to think I was so close to getting out of here alive."

"Oh alright, don't be so melodramatic. I made a deal with you and I'll stick with it." Sarah said to her, then focused on Xena. "Ok, here we go: this is Rada. She's the gladiator that won in the arena earlier and she was sent by the Prince to kill me and Eve. Luckily it didn't work because Eve did some weird chant thing on me when I was in the bathroom and now I'm impervious to mortal wounds, which is a good thing for Eve because if Rada did kill me I wouldn't have been there to save your baby girl, which I'm sure she neglected to mention when she was snitching on me." She shot an annoyed look Eve's way and continued. "Anyway, I saved Eve, recruited the assassin and took a little trip downstairs to make sure the peasant war is still on. In closing I've saved the day like, three times over."

She noticed that Xena still wore the scowl, but pressed her position.

"You can start lavishing me with praise whenever you're ready."

"Ha, first let me try and shovel through some of this bullshit you're feeding us and then I'll explain my perception of tonight's events." Xena started. "Sheer luck saved you from dying at the hands of your new buddy who also tried to kill my daughter. You then tied Eve up and left her helpless in the room all so you could start a war that we may not escape. Then you return to the room with the previously mentioned assassin. What were you planning to do, leave Eve tied to the bed while you and the murderer snuggled up together?" She said, getting right up in Sarah's face.

"Actually I'd planned on tying them both up so I could really stretch out in the bed."

Xena moved in to strangle her but was stopped by Gabrielle.

"Ok, now let's all calm down here." She softly stroked Xena's arm until the warrior backed off, then addressed Sarah. "If the prince was the one that sent the assassin to kill you both, then what were you planning on saying to him in the morning?"

"That she tried to kill us, but we stopped her. Then we tried to question her, but she wouldn't talk so we just assumed she was sent by the peasant militia because the knife isn't that of the royal army." Sarah answered as if the situation were as simple as deciding where to eat for dinner.

"And when the prince decides to have the gladiator killed to protect his secret are you just going to hand her over and expect her to go peacefully?" Gabrielle asked as she continued to hold Xena back.

"No, I was going to tell him that Rada should be our prisoner now since we were the wronged party. I'll probably make up something about needing a new slave, but either way she stays alive because we made a deal." Sarah said matter-of-factly.

"That's right." Rada concurred, crossing her arms.

"Well you've just got it all figured out then don't you?" Xena said spitefully.

"Yeah, actually I do." She said with confidence. "Xena, I didn't plan on causing a lot of trouble just to piss you off. I honestly believe that everything was supposed to happen this way. I mean if Rada hadn't come in here I wouldn't have had a way to get to the dungeon to talk to Liu Xiu, and if I hadn't done that he probably would never have started the war. And before you say anything about that, let me just say that there will be plenty of time for us to get out of here before all hell breaks loose."

"I guess I just don't understand why you didn't come and get us as soon as the assassin was under control." Gabrielle said.

Sarah looked straight at Eve, crossing her arms in a stance that mimicked Rada's. The messenger spoke up.

"Um… well, technically Sarah did send me over to get you, but um… I could tell you were… busy."

Xena just looked down at the floor while Gabrielle turned bright red.

"Oh, right." The bard said. "Well I guess that would have been a bit awkward."

"Yeah." Eve agreed.

"Sooooo." Sarah started. "Since we've obviously hit a stopping point, how 'bout we try to get a little sleep and hope all goes well in the morning once the prince finds out we foiled his evil scheme."

Xena thought for a moment and finally agreed after a roll of her eyes.

"Fine, but Eve stays on the couch in our room and you're stuck here with the murderer and she's to be bound in some way until we are safely on a boat back to Greece. You're newly acquired skill should no doubt prove useful in putting your mind to rest enough to help you sleep. C'mon Eve."

The messenger followed the duo with an almost apologetic glance back to Sarah. As the door closed the two women left inside the room looked curiously at one another.

"Are you really gonna tie me up?" Rada asked. "It's not like I can actually kill you."

"Ha. No, you can't, but I assure you Xena will find a way if morning comes and you're not strapped to something." Sarah said moving to grab the ropes. "And despite this new camaraderie we've developed, you're still a professional killer and I'll sleep a lot better knowing I don't have to worry about the non-life threatening wounds you could inflict on me."

"Great, there goes any chance of me sleeping tonight." Rada said.

"I promise to try to make the ropes as comfortable as possible." Sarah said, rope in hand.

"No it's not the ropes I'm worried about. You snore loud enough to wake the dead." Rada countered.

Sarah looked at her with annoyance and said, "Well then I guess it won't matter how tight the ropes are."

Xena had hoped that once in the room Eve would be tired enough to pass right out so that she could get in some much needed cuddle time with Gabrielle. They had been interrupted during that phase of the night's activities, when their daughter had burst through the door explaining the events that took place across the hall. Sadly, Eve was wide awake and full of questions.

"Mother, I want to know who she is. And don't give me that story about her being an old friend. I'm not buying it." Eve said sternly.

Xena swallowed hard, and moved closer to her daughter.

"Eve, sweetie, as much as it may not seem like it, she's someone that wants to protect you."

"Ha." Eve replied sarcastically. "Protect me? She despises me. Ever since she got here she's been nothing but rude and distant."

Xena glanced at the bard whose eyes admitted defeat. They both knew they would have to tell the girl what was going on. Gabrielle was the first to speak. She was able to make it through the entire story without one interruption from Eve until the very end.

"So she's from the future?" Eve asked.

"That's what she says." Gabrielle answered.

"And you believe her?" The young girl questioned again.

Both bard and warrior nodded their heads in agreement.

"Are you sure she's not just crazy?"

"Well that's debatable." Xena said with a smirk. "But despite that she's hard headed and determined to get things right and part of that is making sure you get out of here safely."

"Well one thing is for sure; she came here to save you and thank Eli that worked out." Eve said, moving to hug both the bard and warrior. After a few seconds she released them and spoke again. "And whether we like her or not she's obviously here to do something important. The god of Eli doesn't just bestow his gifts upon anyone. She's his instrument now."

"Heh, well I wouldn't tell her that. I doubt she'd be happy about being called anyone's instrument." Xena said with a chuckle. "Now how about we set the couch up for you so we can all get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

And with that they all settled in for the rest of the night.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Not So Great Escape

Sarah was groggy when she woke up since keeping one eye open while also trying to sustain deep REM sleep is not as easy as one might assume. She ran a hand through her hair as her eyes adjusted to the light rushing through the window. Once they were finally able to focus they settled on the dark eyes that belonged to the assassin tied to the ornate couch in the corner of the room.

"Oh thank God you're awake; I've had to pee for the last two hours." Rada said with an annoyance Sarah was becoming accustomed to.

"Of course." Sarah said as she moved to untie the restraints. Once free her dark companion raced for the chamber pot.

Taking advantage of the small window of privacy she quickly rummaged through her bag for something to wear. As soon as she'd finished pulling a shirt over her head, Rada returned from relieving herself and Eve entered the room.

"Good morning beautiful. How did you sleep?" Rada asked.

Eve did little but acknowledge the fact that she had been addressed before ignoring the question and speaking to Sarah.

"Mother and Gabrielle have gone to fetch the Prince and the royal guard. You'll need to tie her up again so he doesn't figure out you two became best buddies overnight." She said.

Sarah nodded her head and grabbed the rope from the sofa.

"C'mon killer. Time to put a little show on for the royal court." She said as she secured the ties.

Sarah then addressed Eve.

"So, on a scale of one to ten, how mad at me are you?" She asked.

"I know why you did what you did." Eve said without maintaining eye contact. Her tone was much more disconnected than usual and Sarah noticed.

"Good. I'd say you're at about a 7.5 which is much better than I had expected." She said, still not getting a reaction out of Eve. "I use the sarcasm to deflect conflict. My therapist used to say that it was a coping mechanism. But it obviously doesn't work as well as an apology for tying someone up and leaving them alone in an unsafe environment, huh?"

After a few more moments of silence Sarah finally gave up and sat down to put her boots on. Once she was finished tying them she grabbed the knife that was starting to become an obsession. It symbolized her newfound immortality and though it wouldn't have been much to look at to anyone else with its wooden handle and dull blade, to Sarah it was one of the most peculiar things she'd ever seen. As she studied it she was interrupted by Eve's voice.

"What?" Sarah asked, having missed the first part of her statement.

"I said that I understand why you did what you did, but I think you're too reckless for your own good. Just because you come from the future doesn't mean you have the right to just set things into motion because you think it's what's supposed to happen."

"So they told you about who I really am?" Sarah asked and was answered with a nod. "And I guess you're figuring that since I saved Xena and changed her fate, that I could just take the chance on the peasant war not starting?"

"Would it be the worst thing?" Eve asked.

"Well as hypocritical as it might sound, saving the life of one or two people probably isn't going to alter history all that much, but letting an entire war just disappear from the books could have some cataclysmic results. Plus the fighting would have started anyway; only the bad guys would have been the ones with a head start." Sarah said.

"There aren't good guys and bad guys in wars. There are good, decent people fighting for bad leaders." Eve said.

Sarah wanted to say Yeah, and you were one of them. But Eve beat her to the punch.

"I know because I was one of them." She said.

Sarah wasn't expecting this and for the first time since meeting Eve she decided to give her a break. There was something about the remorse that shone through Eve's words that almost made her feel bad for the reformed warlord. Before she could say anything the door opened and about a half dozen imperial soldiers barreled in with Xena, Gabrielle and the Prince right behind them.

"Ok, time to put your game face on." Sarah whispered to Eve, and then spoke directly to the Prince. "I've got her tied up over here. It's a good thing I was here last night to protect Eve, otherwise she would have been killed for sure."

The Prince could barely hide the anger on his face as he looked upon the would-be assassin.

"To think that someone in my own palace would try to harm one of my guests is deplorable. Did she say why she came to kill you both?" He asked.

"We tried to question her a few times, but she wouldn't talk. She was carrying this;" Sarah said producing the knife. "It's a far cry from an Imperial weapon. From the looks of it, I'd say it was a peasant knife."

"Which leads us to believe she was hired by the rebels." Xena pressed on. "Making our need to leave the palace even more urgent."

"Yes, Xena." Said the Prince as he grabbed Rada by the throat. "I will personally make sure this vermin is disposed of."

"Actually your highness," Sarah said, stopping the strangulation. "We have our own plans for her, if you don't mind."

He paused to look her in the eye, knowing it would seem strange if he rashly insisted to keep her under his watch when she'd escaped it before.

"Of course. I only wish that the peasant pigs who employed her could feel the wrath of the emperor. I'm sure he would see to their punishment upon your insistence." He said with a small bow.

Sniveling little snake, Xena thought. He'd try to get me in on his little war at any cost.

"Actually, I'm just glad that everyone is ok." She said with a grin. "But we would like to leave as soon as it's safe."

"I understand your concern, Xena. I'll be sending an attachment to escort you to the docks at sunset. It will consist of some of my best soldiers to ensure your safety. And please accept my most sincere apologies for the attack on your daughter." He said, disappointment obvious in his tone.

"Thank you, your highness; we'll be waiting for your troops to accompany us." She bowed to him and he exited the room with the soldiers in tow.

"I'm sure we can count on anything but protection from the men he sends with us." Gabrielle said to Xena.

"Yeah, but at least now we know for sure who to look out for." The warrior said.

"And you have me." Rada said. "How much more of an advantage do you want?"

They all turned to look at her, no one particularly impressed with the comment. It was Xena who broke the small silence.

"Once we head for the docks I want everyone to stay in formation around Eve. Rada will be tied up at the wrists, but she'll have a knife hidden somewhere in her clothes so she can cut herself free once the fighting breaks out. The best thing we can do is keep things quiet. That way the townsfolk won't decide to get in on it too. With the four of us prepared, we should be able to take on a few soldiers and make it safely to the docks."

She moved over to the Slav and untied her bonds before addressing the girl.

"Now let me make something very clear. If you double cross us in any way I will personally see that you end your days begging for the sweet release of death."

"You don't have to worry about me, warrior princess. I have my own agenda, and it doesn't involve any of you once I'm set free." she answered.

"Good." said the warrior. "Then while we have a little time to prepare maybe you could teach Sarah a thing or two about hand to hand combat. She may be hard to kill, but that doesn't mean she's any good in a fight."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Rada said, and Sarah gave her a small sneer.

"Eve's coming with us where I know she'll be safe. We'll all meet back up at dusk and await the Prince in my room." Xena said as she led Gabrielle and Eve out the door.

The two young women stood in the room alone as if they were scolded children who had just been told they could have a little breakfast so they wouldn't starve to death. Rada finally let out a long breath and spoke.

"Well, we'd better get started. You've got a long way to go."

Gabrielle decided to take what would most likely be their last luxurious bath for a while, at a languid pace, leaving Xena and Eve with some quality mother/daughter time. They chose to put it to good use in the form of a walk through the beautiful gardens of the palace. Exotic flowers and trees subsisted along their path as they danced around a subject that had, miraculously, never come up. Knowing that they could walk for miles before Xena would open up about anything uncomfortable; Eve decided to dive right in.

"So you died in Japa, huh?" She said more than asked.

"Technically I didn't die; I just lost my body for a while." Xena explained.

"But you would have stayed dead if it weren't for Sarah coming back in time to save you?" She pushed.

"Yes, Eve, I would have." She stated.

"But why?" The messenger pressed.

"It's complicated sweetheart and I've already been through it with Gabrielle. I'm alive now; can't we just leave it at that?" She asked, hoping it was her exit from this conversation.

"I see. So, Gabrielle is the only one to whom you owe an answer. Of course, why should I matter? I'm only your child." Eve said, stomping ahead.

"Eve, wait." Xena said as she tried to keep up.

Is Sarah rubbing off on her or something? I can't deal with both of them, Xena thought as she grabbed Eve's arm.

"You should know how important you are to me; I gave up nearly everything for you." She told her daughter.

"Then tell me why I almost lost you to your own decision." Eve pressed.

"Because I couldn't take it anymore. I dedicated so much of my life to saving people and in the end there was nothing that would ever satisfy my guilt. It was as if every single day I was pushing a boulder up a never ending hill only to have to go right back down to the bottom each morning and start all over again." The warrior explained.

"Mother, do you not think I understand what it feels like to want to atone for your sins?" Eve asked.

"I know you do, but the difference is that you don't have someone else bearing that burden with you, Eve. From the first day she got on my horse and rode away with me, Gabrielle has taken part of my load without complaint. It just didn't seem right to let her continue to do that, if I had a way to set her free."

Eve thought for a moment and slowly continued their walk before she spoke.

"I would chastise you for your stupidity, but I'm sure Gabrielle has already given you an earful." She said.

"You always were perceptive." Xena said, patting her on the back.

"What do you plan to do after we leave Chin?" Eve asked.

"When you were a baby Gabrielle asked me, for the first and only time, to settle down. She wanted to stay with the Amazons and lead them. So that's what we're going to do. I doubt she'll want to take the throne from Varia, so she'll probably be on the council and I'll figure out something to do." She gave an optimistic grin.

"Do you think it'll work? That you won't feel the need to travel and right wrongs?" Eve asked.

"I think the only way I'd be able to ignore that boulder is if I were physically incapable of moving it. But since that's not the case, I'm going to try helping Gabrielle move her own and hope we get farther along with it." She paused. "But I think what you're really asking me is, will I be happy. And the answer is yes, whether I deserve it or not."

Eve gave her a soft, understanding smile and hugged her fiercely.

"Just don't do it again, Mother. I couldn't bear to lose you right now."

"I promise, sweetheart." Xena kissed Eve on the top of her head, then moved it so she could look her in the eye. "Now can we please end this conversation, I think you've tortured me enough. You're such a terrible pacifist."

"Ha." Eve blurted as she started walking back toward the castle. "I'm a terrible pacifist. You wouldn't last five minutes in my shoes."

"You're right; I'd beat someone with them within the first two."

Xena put an arm around her daughter and they walked the rest of the way in pleasant silence.

"Tell me again, what this thing is you are fighting with?" Rada asked for about the third time.

"Ugghh. This is the last time I'm explaining it to you." Sarah said. "It's called a softball bat. You use it in a game to hit a ball that someone throws at you."

"But if someone is throwing a soft ball at you why would you need to hit it out of the way? It's not like it would hurt." The gladiator countered.

"The ball isn't actually soft; it's just bigger than the ball the men use." Sarah said, knowing the next question in the gauntlet.

"Then why call it a soft ball bat and not a big ball bat?" Rada asked.

"You know what? I'm not answering that stupid question again. From now on you can just call this 'the big stick I kick your ass with'."

And with that she came out swinging. Rada was excellent at evading the bat. Every time Sarah thought she had the dark girl, she would move just out of reach, causing great frustration to the novice.

"Getting angry isn't improving your form, you know." Said the Slav.

Sarah just growled and swung harder.

"And now you're wasting more energy and still not hitting me." Rada said, parrying her thrusts. "You'll tire out and pretty soon…"

"Oooff." Sarah grunted as she received a hard punch to the gut, followed by a hard rush of leg knocking her own out from under her. Before she knew it her attacker was poised above her, pushing the bat into her throat. She struggled just to keep it high enough to allow some airflow to her lungs.

"…you'll find yourself on your back at the mercy of your opponent." The gladiator said through the dark bangs that framed her eyes.

Shit, is she serious? Sarah thought. Did she decide to switch sides on us?

They stayed like that for a few seconds before she heard a soft chuckle and felt the weight lifting off of her body. When she looked up Rada was offering her hand, and Sarah took it while at the same time grabbing her neck.

"You know it's a good thing you're immortal, because you can't fight worth shit. But you do have plenty of fire in your belly. You may prove useful tonight, just don't get in my way."

"I'll try." Sarah said, with little interest in the statement. Rada's mention of the coming events had given her the uneasy feeling she had the night before in the passage way. For some reason she felt the need to talk to Lui again, if only to get some kind of closure on the situation. "Hey, how many guards are down in the dungeon during daylight hours?" She asked.

"The same number that there are at night. Why?"

She got her answer when Sarah began removing the tile on the floor.

"Oh, come on. What more could you possibly have to say to him? So he doesn't like you. Who cares? It's not your place to fight this war." Rada said, following.

"Look, just stay up here and keep watch. I won't be down there long. I just need to tell him something, maybe give him more of an advantage."

"Uhg, fine, but if the big, tall one comes back looking for you I'm telling her exactly where you went. Don't think for a second she'll have to beat it out of me."

She didn't receive an answer; Sarah was already halfway to the cells.

The room that belonged to the Prince had one overpowering theme that smacked a newcomer in the face as soon as they walked in: ivory. The nearly offensive white that was hard to maintain was the only satisfactory resting place for his highness. The room's owner decided every detail; from the large and expensive four-poster bed, down to the knobs on the drawers. One would think that a designer so particular about their sanctuary would be the last to defile it day after day. But then again one would only need ask the cleaning staff about how hard it is to remove dried crimson memories from white satin sheets. Torture came naturally to him, and most of the time it came in the form of a young girl paid to accompany him in the night.

Standing in front of the door that led into the Prince's room were two very frightened, imperial guards. They had been there for at least five minutes, both just sweating and staring at the door. Neither dared touch the handle, let alone raise a hand to knock. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Well." Ping sputtered out. "Aren't you going to let him know we're here?"

"Me?" Chang asked. "Why should I do it? You're the one who fell asleep."

"Yeah, well you're the one who spent half the night outside because of your stupid stomach problems. I'd have stayed awake if I'd had someone to talk to." Ping countered.

"And what would you have had me do, Ping? Take a nice, runny shit right there at our post?" Chang asked in defiance.

"Well it won't matter much from here on out, you probably won't be shitting anywhere. He's probably going to shove our staffs right up our asses." Ping said, before grimacing and summoning up the courage to knock on the door.

The few seconds they waited for it to open seemed like hours, but finally the doors slowly parted from each other and the prince could be seen standing in the middle of the room waiting patiently with his hands behind his back.

"Come forward." He said sternly.

With swift steps they approached and then graciously moved into a deep bow, before rising back up. The Prince began to circle them.

"Last night you two were stationed outside the room belonging to Eve, daughter of Xena. You were given one specific instruction; not to let anyone in or out the door until morning. Not only did Eve exit and reenter the room, so did Xena and Gabrielle." He stopped walking in front of Chang and stood nose to nose with him. "How do you explain this?"

"W-well your highness, you see I took ill late in the evening and was forced to depart from my post for a small amount of time s-so as to relieve myself." He stammered. God I'm amazed I got all of that out. It sounded better than "I had to run to the garden before I shit my pants." He thought. All he received in response was long, disbelieving stare before the Prince moved to put his partner in the hot seat.

"And you, young man? What is your excuse?"

Ping swallowed hard. He knew his excuse was the weaker of the two and wished he didn't have to follow Chang's act. Since when did he start "relieving himself", the bastard.

"Your highness, sadly I'd worked so hard during the day serving his majesty that no matter how hard I fought off my fatigue, I had no choice but to succumb to it."

The prince clenched his jaw and moved away, walking his circle again.

"So am I to understand that you so woefully failed in your duties because one of you has a weak stomach and the other has no stamina?" He surmised.

After a brief pause they both finally conceded with a "Yes, your highness."

The prince nodded his head and with a snap of his fingers both men were being tightly held by the very guards who opened the bedroom doors for them. They didn't dare struggle, knowing it would only make things worse.

"This one" the Prince said, pointing to Chang, "is to have his entrails slowly removed from his gut until death comes to him or he runs out of intestine to pull."

Chang let the smallest of sobs escape as the guard dragged him out of the room and down to the dungeon.

"And this one," the Prince continued, pausing to think, "Put him on his knees with spikes all around him. He's had a rough day, he should fall asleep soon."

Ping wasn't so successful in keeping his cries inside. His wailing nearly overpowered the Prince's request to his guard.

"And once you're done setting it up make sure to stop by Sergeant Yang's quarters. He's leading an escort tonight and I have special instructions for him." He said quite loudly.

"Please no! No, don't do it for heaven's sake. Stop. Please NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The scream bathed the dungeon in terror as Sarah made her way back through the corridor after her brief talk with Liu Xiu.

What the hell are they doing to that poor guy? She thought, sadly. Her heart was pounding as she tried to shut out the dreadful screams by putting her hands over her ears.

With quicker steps she made her way back to the tile that opened into her room. Once she'd pulled herself through she noticed Rada talking very loudly through the door.

"Just one more second Xena, I'm almost done putting on my shirt. I'm very shy and don't like to show my naked body to strangers."

Sarah chuckled and clapped the assassin on the back.

"Thought you said you weren't going to stall for me." She said.

"Well I thought about it and figured that if she came in here and found you gone she'd still kill me for letting you leave, so I took my chances and hoped you'd hurry back. Thankfully I was right." She said in a lower voice than she'd been using just seconds before.

"Ok, I'm coming." She said louder, and walked over to unlock the door.

When she opened it there was a disbelieving warrior standing on the other side wondering what was going on. But as she took in the scene before her things became very clear.

"You must think I'm completely clueless." She said to Rada as she entered the room.

"What do you mean?" Rada asked, the tiniest bit of worry showing through in her voice.

"Ok, so you're obviously not going to talk. Sarah how 'bout you? Wanna' fess up?" She asked, standing over her victim.

"I…uh…I mean…" Sarah stammered, trying desperately to think of something to say.

"Oh, don't play dumb. It's obvious what's going on in here. A five year old could figure it out." Xena said, waiting for her suspicions to be confirmed before she had to spell them out. Both girls simply stared with fear in their eyes. "By the Gods! Fine, I'll just come out and say it. You were sleeping together, weren't you?"

"Oh, thank God." Sarah said with a sigh of relief, and then realized that Xena had heard her. "I mean thank God we don't have to keep it a secret." she recovered, putting an arm around Rada's shoulders.

"Huh?" The Slav grunted, and Sarah gave her shoulder a hard squeeze. "I mean, yes, I'm glad we don't have to hide our blossoming love."

Sarah almost laughed when she heard the drab way the assassin forced out the word "blossoming".

"I didn't want to say anything because of the whole attempted murder thing that happened last night. I figured you would give me a hard time about it, but honestly I think things are better this way." She said, feigning relief.

"Right, well, that's great and all but we really need to get ready to leave. You've got about one hour to pack your things and I suggest you spend your time doing just that instead of… whatever it was you were doing before I got here."

"Well it'll be hard," Rada said, "but I'll try to keep my hands off her."

Sarah let out a yelp from the unexpected squeeze to her ass. She gave a threatening glance to Rada who simply grinned at her. The Slav's eyes were saying 'smile, she's watching' in mockery of their ruse. And with that Sarah gave Rada a girlish slap to the gut.

"Not while Xena's here." She giggled.

"By the gods." Xena said as she rolled her eyes and exited the room.

Sarah and Rada parted as soon as the door closed.

"What was that?" The young time traveler asked.

"What was what?" Rada returned.

"The ass grabbing. There was no need for ass grabbing." Sarah said indignantly.

"I thought it made things more believable… and I thought it was funny." She said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, well try that again and I'll let Xena in on what really went on here before she came in."

"And what, let her kill us both?" Rada asked, as if she had the upper hand.

"Huh. Speak for yourself." Sarah said. "I'm immortal."

Try as she might Rada had no retort to that. Deciding that Sarah's ass was now off limits she resigned herself to grabbing at the girl's chest the next time she wanted to embarrass her publicly.

Eve was nearly finished packing up her meager belongings when she heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." She said.

Standing on the other side were Sarah and Rada. The latter had her wrists tied together and a gag around her mouth.

"I know she was supposed to be tied up, but why'd you gag her?" Gabrielle asked as they entered the room.

"I thought it would be funny." Sarah said smiling as she mimicked the assassin's words from earlier in the evening. She suffered a few bite wounds on her fingers, but it was worth it to put the extra restraint on her.

"Well you should probably take it off, before the guards get here. Communication is going to be extremely important once all hell breaks loose in our little escort party." The Bard said.

Exhaling her disappointment, Sarah moved to do as she was bid.

"Does she have a knife to free her from the ropes around her hands?" Xena asked

"Not yet." Rada answered once the gag was ripped from her mouth. She leered at Sarah.

"Here, this should be perfect." Xena said as she reached into her cleavage and produced the breast dagger. Carefully she placed the blade between Rada's wrists and positioned the horizontal hilt between her hands. "There's no way the guards will notice it and all you have to do to be free of your bonds is give a couple of sturdy swipes to the rope. Just make sure you don't lose it. It's got a lot of sentimental value."

"Oh that's right," Sarah exclaimed. "Gabrielle bought it right after you guys started traveling together, but you taught her that whole lesson about blood innocence and she ended up giving it to you… And because I've just proved what a total geek I am, I'll just shut up now."

They all stared at her for a few seconds more until Xena finally broke the silence.

"Just don't lose it." She said to Rada, when they heard a knock at the door.

Taking a deep breath, Xena looked around at everyone.

"Ok, it's time. Is everyone ready?" She asked and was met with a unanimous round of nods. "Come in." She called to the door.

A well-armored soldier entered the room and bowed. Ten similarly armored men waited outside the door.

"Xena, I am sergeant Yang. I will be leading the escort to the docks." He stated. "The sun has set and if you are ready we should be on our way."

"Very good, sergeant. We're grateful for your assistance." Xena said.

"If you and the other ladies would stand together, we will surround you on our way through the streets. You will be perfectly safe."

"Whatever you think is best." Xena agreed with a tense smile.

And with that they all moved out of the room and surrounded Eve; Xena to her front, Gabrielle in back and Rada and Sarah at her sides. The soldiers took their places around the core group and once all was settled the sergeant gave the order to march.

Ten to four and a half. That's more than two men each. Sarah thought. I'd be so screwed if I could still die.

Things moved along rather quickly as they walked through the palace and outside the walls. At first the group stuck to the path, but after a while the sergeant gave the order to deviate from the road and go through the forest.

"Are you sure this will get us to the docks, sergeant?" Xena asked, more to her group than the soldiers. It was merely her way of warning them that the attack was about to begin.

"Yes, the trees will be much better for hiding from the villagers than the road." He said.

They were barely under cover of the trees for five minutes before the sergeant gave the order for them to stop because he'd heard something. He spent a few minutes pretending to listen to something then gave a yell to signal the beginning of the slaughter.

The effect of his voice was that of a gun firing at a foot race. Everyone started moving. The soldiers drew their swords just as Xena and her crew drew their own unique weapons and they all dug into the fight. The Warrior Princess dispatched her immediate foes swiftly then turned around to take one from Rada and one from Sarah before flipping over to Gabrielle. As Sarah swung her bat furiously she wondered if everyone else was having as tough of a time as she was. Obviously Xena wasn't because she'd already moved in on her and Rada's action. But surely everyone else wasn't having such an easy go of things.

She was actually proud of how well she was performing against her foe. Every swipe of the sword was deflected, and some were answered with a swing of her own. After a few moments of extreme concentration she finally got an opening. Her attacker lifted his sword above his head and hammered it down into the ground. Sarah twirled to the side then brought her bat down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. When she saw that he wasn't getting back up from the blow she screamed victoriously into the air.

"Woo Hoo! Yeah!" She danced around his limp form. "That's right! Thought you'd pick on the history geek, huh? Who else wants…" She turned around to see that the rest of the men had obviously been taken out a while ago as Rada was picking at her nails and the other three women were staring at her. "…some." She finished quietly.

"So, I guess you guys are ready to go, huh?"

Xena, Gabrielle and Eve shook their heads in confusion and started walking. Rada stayed behind a few steps with Sarah.

"Do you practice being this pathetic, or does it just come naturally to you?" She asked as she clapped a sympathetic hand to Sarah's back.

"Oh, it's all natural." Sarah assured her as they followed the pack.

It wasn't long before they reached the docks and they were just in time. There was a boat for Greece about to launch.

"Hurry up, or we'll miss it." Xena yelled out to the rest of them.

They all ran as fast as they could and caught the deck hands just before they finished removing the ropes from the dock.

"We've got five for passage to Greece." Xena called out.

"Four." Rada yelled in correction, then in a softer voice said "I'm staying remember, got a little debt to settle."

The deckhand nodded, "We can take four." He said. Xena slipped a few coins into his hand.

Eve boarded first, followed by Gabrielle, then Xena. It was the messenger who noticed that Sarah wasn't moving.

"Sarah, come on, the boat is gonna leave any minute now." She said, causing the warrior and bard to turn and see what the hold-up was.

"Actually I figured I'd give you some breathing room. The boat's probably gonna be crowded and sharing a hammock with a woman of god just seems wrong." Sarah joked.

"Sarah, stop with the jokes already and get you're troublemaking ass on the boat right now." Xena said as the last ropes were being secured to the rigging.

"I um… I can't Xena." She said, half afraid the warrior would violently drag her ass onto the boat, and half afraid she wouldn't. "Somewhere along the way my conscience got the better of me and I decided I couldn't just be the catalyst for this war without helping to save as many lives as possible. I talked things over with Liu and now I have a post protecting the women and children. So I can't leave."

The ramp to the ship was being pulled away.

"Wait!" Gabrielle yelled at the deck hands. "Sarah, I know we've given you a hard time these past few days, but you cannot stay behind. A war is about to break out here and you have no idea how long your new gift will last. Please get on the boat."

It touched her to see that Gabrielle cared, and she knew that a couple more admissions like that would be her undoing.

"Take care of each other." She said to them. "I didn't come back and save your asses just so you could screw it all up."

And with that she turned to Rada as the ramp was pulled away and the boat was pushed off.

"You want company on the way back?" She asked.

The Slav regarded her with a puzzled expression. "So what, you're like a hero now?" She asked.

"Oh, definitely not. I'm still just as pathetic as I was an hour ago. Only now, I'm a spineless sympathetic to boot."

"Huh-ha." She laughed and put a hand on Sarah's shoulder as they turned to walk back into town. "You know if we both survive this I think we'll make good friends…or at least good drinking buddies. I'll teach you how to handle the ale."

"Ha." Sarah put her arm around Rada as well while they walked. "Believe me, I don't need any lessons on that front."

Back on the boat Xena was at a loss for what to do. The boat had drifted quite a few yards away and there was no turning it back. They were so damn close to escaping with everyone, then Sarah had to go and pull something like this.

"Of all the stupid, self important, pointless things to…" She ranted.

"Xena." Gabrielle interrupted.

"Gabrielle, I know what you're going to say, but she made her own decision and we just can't risk taking Eve into a war zone or leaving her alone with a boat full of seamen." The warrior said.

"But Xena that's just it, where did Eve go?" The bard asked.

"What are you talking about she was right…" as Xena turned around to point at Eve her finger landed on a passed out drunk that probably had no idea he was on his way to Greece. "…behind us."

Quickly they ran to the side of the boat and scanned the waters leading up to the docks. There, leaving a trail of bubbles in her wake, was the Messenger of Eli swimming straight for the war zone.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Collateral Damage

"_Eve!" _

"_Eve, can you hear me?"_

"_Eve, if you can hear me; call out so I can find you!"_

"_Eve, where are you?" _

_Different voices called out the same pleas to the messenger of Eli as they searched through the forest across the river banks. Xena and Gabrielle were frantic with worry. The battle had died down hours ago and they still hadn't found their daughter. Sarah and Rada were just equally as invested in the search with one difference: Sarah felt as if Eve's disappearance was her fault. If they didn't find her soon, or even worse found her dead, there would be a weight on Sarah's shoulders that she didn't know she could bear._

"_Eve, please!" She shouted, and then said more quietly, "Please be ok." _

_She let a single tear fall through the dirt and gore on her face, then covered her face as she leaned back against a tree. She then let her hands fall to her sides and laid her head back on the tree as well. She knew it had to be late afternoon, but it was hard to judge due to the clouds. It had been overcast since sunrise; when the fighting was at its climax. She heard the rain on the tree above her before the first drop hit her face; mixing with the tear, and blood, and dirt. It was a drizzle, nothing more, but it would prove to make the search that much harder. _

_**How did this happen?**__ She thought as she pushed herself away from the tree and trudged on. The rest of the group hadn't even realized she had stopped; they were so spread out at this point._

_**It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was gonna stay here for a little bit, do my good deed, and go home. It was gonna be so god damn simple, but she couldn't keep her do-gooder ass on that fucking boat. **_

_**It was supposed to be easy, but it wasn't…**_

"Sarah!" The soaked young woman cried as she struggled to catch up. "Sarah, Rada, wait."

They both turned in shock to see Eve rushing toward them like a wet cat chasing a mouse. Having not even reached the main road yet, they turned in surprise.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sarah said. "What the hell is she doing?"

"Well it looks to me like she's following us." Rada deadpanned.

"I know that dipshit; I mean why is she following us? She should be on the boat to Greece." Sarah said.

"She'll be here soon enough, and then you can ask her yourself."

Within seconds she was right in front of them, bending over to catch her breath once she was sure they wouldn't continue on without her.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked.

"I want to help you." She stood up and took one last deep breath. "You said you were going to help protect the women and children and I thought I might be useful."

"Seriously?" Sarah asked as if she were waiting on Eve to come out with something else like 'I left my prayer beads back at the palace and wanted to get them before all hell broke loose.'

"Why would I joke about something like this?" Eve asked.

"Eve-" Sarah started to speak, but was stopped by a hand on her chest as Rada stepped forward.

"I got this one." She moved closer to Eve and softly stroked her face with the back of her hand before continuing. "You see, beautiful, the battlefield isn't a place for someone so delicate. We wouldn't want your innocent eyes to have to look upon death and destruction. Plus how could you possibly help, huh? Praying in the middle of a fight will get you nothing more than a trip to the next life."

Eve removed the hand from her face and walked right past Rada to speak to Sarah.

"Sarah I may have attacked a lot of villages in my day, but I've defended them as well. I know tactics and strategy much better than you. Plus you're going to need someone to help the women and children retreat if need be. You can't be fighting on the front lines and navigating an escape all at the same time."

Sarah was quiet for a minute as she thought about what the messenger had just said. The problem was she was right.

"But why did you come back, Eve? This is a war, it's the very thing you preach against and you're about to participate in it. Whether you're fighting or not it just seems to go against your morals. And I know you didn't come here because of me."

"Actually it is because of you." Eve said. "It was something you said the other day about the difference in causing violence and just letting it happen. You were right. I don't have to be a violent person, but I can't just run from it all the time; not when I can do something to stop it. Plus, if Eli used my powers to make you immortal then you must be a very important instrument of good."

Sarah rolled her eyes at all of this.

"Eve, first off, I am far from being someone that should give out ethical advice. My morals are for me and me alone. Hell, most of the time they only have a shelf life of a year or so, then I see something that completely throws my perception of the world off balance and I adjust my approach accordingly. Second, don't consider for a second that I am special because of my new gift. I'm not sure why I have it, but I assure you it's not because I'm meant to do something great, more than likely it's because I'm supposed to screw something up. But either way, I'm no one's tool, let alone a God I don't believe in."

"Yeah, I agree." Rada piped in. "There's no way she's supposed to do something great. Her fighting is almost as embarrassing as the stuff that comes out of her mouth. Maybe your God made a mistake."

Eve just glared at her and turned her attention back to Sarah.

"Either way, I'm here to help. Surely you're not stupid enough to turn that down." She said.

Sarah was about to agree with her by default, but before she'd even finished sighing in resignation a loud boom could be heard in the direction of the palace. It was followed by screams and shouts from the people inside. The three women stared transfixed as fire and smoke soon followed the deafening noise.

"Shit, it's started." Sarah said, turning back to Rada and Eve. "I'm already late, and no one is safe on the streets. You sure you want to go in there Rada? You'd be a lot safer with me and the villagers."

"Aw, isn't she sweet to care about my well being." Rada said as she moved closer and squished Sarah's cheeks together. "But believe me; I can take care of myself. Though I may join you after I've finished taking care of my business. Where are you going to be?"

"Across the north east bridge near the forest at the base of the mountain. Good luck." Sarah said, putting her closed fist in the air.

"What is that?" Rada asked, leaving her hanging.

"It's like a handshake, kind of a symbol of friendship. You just hit my fist with yours and it looks like we're really tough." Sarah explained.

"Oh." Rada said, tapping her fist to Sarah's. "I like that. If all goes well I'll see you later."

And with that she bolted in the direction of the castle, not wanting to waste a second that the prince may have to escape. Sarah turned and regarded Eve before she spoke.

"I guess you're coming with me whether I like it or not." She saw the look of triumph on Eve's face and shook her head in worry. "Alright let's go. We need to get there as fast as we can or they'll leave without us. If Xena and Gabrielle are trying to find you they'll just have to follow our tracks."

"Cool." Eve said and earned a strange look from Sarah. "What? I've heard you use that term quite a few times. Did I not use it in the right context?"

"No, we're in a war zone; it's not possible for something to be cool. If we both make it out of here though, you can use it every time I make a suggestion. Now c'mon." She said, taking off in a dead run. The messenger followed close behind her.

Rada was sputtering and coughing way before she could see the castle, but nothing would deter her from the speed she was traveling at. Once she had reached the exterior wall chaos was the only thing to greet her. Guards, nobles and peasants alike were running wild trying to figure out what was happening as dark smoke billowed from different areas of the fortress. With any luck they had scrambled to get the prince to a safe secluded area, before leaving him with but a few guards to protect him. The armory was her best guess as to his location. Structurally it was extremely sound, and there would be soldiers going in and out the entire time.

She pushed through the swarm of people and almost tripped over a dead palace guard lying on the ground. It looked like he was pummeled by some of the palace walls that had obviously exploded all over the place. An idea formed in her head and she quickly grabbed the corpse by the arms and drug inside and into a closet. Within minutes she emerged in full combat gear; an imperial sword attached to her hip. With any luck she'd be able to march through the entire castle undetected.

Her assumptions were right. Everyone was so busy either scrambling to a post, the infirmary or to safety that barely a look was afforded her. The doors to the armory were closed, but a soft check of the handle of the left one let her know it wasn't locked. Rada walked in as if she owned the place. Inside she found things just as she had suspected: the prince was quivering in fear, and flanked by two soldiers. It was almost too easy.

"Soldier!" One of the armed men yelled at her. "What are you doing here? Your weapon is fine; you should be forming a defense of the palace with the others."

Rada said nothing as she continued to move closer to her target. The headpiece she wore stopped them from seeing her entire face, but she could tell they were now catching on to the threat that she presented. She heard the swords being drawn before she actually saw them; her eyes had yet to leave the body of the prince.

Two war cries came closer and closer, but they didn't scare her at all. She was not only a skilled warrior, but a determined one. Someone was about to pay for the last few years of her life, and that fact alone seemed to make the other men move slower and louder. As both swords swung at her midsection she flipped backward and drew her own. Within seconds she was dodging and deflecting the blows being directed at her until one of the men overshot his swing and tumbled to the floor with the force of it. Rada didn't hesitate to use him as support for her sword as she plunged it into his chest and vaulted over him, landing two solid kicks on the other target.

The guard that was still standing was little more than a field mouse biting uselessly at the talons of an eagle. Within seconds Rada separated him from his weapon and in under a minute managed to use it together with her own in a scissor like motion on his neck. She was standing over his dead body when she heard the pitter patter of royal feet heading for the door. With impressive accuracy she threw both swords at the prince, pinning him by the sleeves of his robe to the closed side of the double doors.

He screamed for help, but it did little more than compete with the shrieks and orders coming from outside the armory. Rada yanked a sash from the waist of one of the dead soldiers and walked toward him. It was at that moment that he finally recognized who she was. The screaming stopped only for a second as a look of fear and disgust overtook his features, he didn't have another chance to scream as she tied the sash around his mouth and closed the other door.

Water trickled down Xena's arms, causing her to slip in her first attempt to help Gabrielle onto the dock. The second attempt worked much better, and she put a hand on the bard's shoulder in apology before they shot off into the night in search of Eve and the rest of their troublemaking crew.

"Rada was heading toward the palace; Sarah would at least have traveled with her to the main road, so from here we should just bear straight. After that we'll have to watch the tracks and pray to the gods someone is willing to help us find them." Xena said, through bated breath.

Gabrielle nodded her head in agreement and they both picked up the pace, resigning to silence until they found a stopping point. There were distinct tracks made by Eve due to the fact that she was wet when she was running after Sarah and Rada. The tracks would continue to stand out for quite a few more meters, but they would give out at some point and just mingle with the rest of the shoe marks. It was Sarah's unique footprints that would truly help them out. They were deeply grooved in a way that no other footwear of the time was. Her shoes dug into the ground well, leaving a clear trail to where they headed throughout the dirt roads.

"Look, those have to be Sarah's." The bard pointed out. "They'll last as long as she stayed on the dirt road and they're right next to Eve's. Surely they would have stayed together the whole way."

"You're absolutely right, Gabrielle. Lead the way." Xena said.

"Oh no." The bard said, pulling the warrior closer to her. "The last time you had me lead missions we ended up in quite the predicament. You're leading, and I am at your side."

For a second Xena was worried that the bard was taking a shot at her, but her fears were put to rest when she saw a mischievous smile perk up on the bards lips. Her partner had just made the first joke about their last adventure. That told her that they were on they're way to putting it in the past, and that the bard was starting to trust her in battle again.

"Nicely put my bard."

The village wasn't in half as much chaos as they'd expected all the movement seemed to be coming from the palace. The only stragglers left behind were either grabbing belongings and heading for the river, or picking up makeshift weapons and following the same path.

"Word concerning the breakout obviously spread to the masses. Most of the houses look like they've been deserted for a while." Gabrielle observed.

"Yeah, and it won't take a whole lot longer for word to travel to the rest of the provinces either. They had to leave, any house standing near the palace is going to be leveled in the chaos whether it's by the Emperor's men or not." Xena agreed. "One good thing for us is that it's obvious where the safe ground is, you just follow the refugees. But it's a double edged sword, because if it's easy for us to see, then it's easy for the enemy to see as well."

"Sounds like the best thing we can do right now is get a head start." The bard said.

"Let's just hope that's enough." Xena put a hand to Gabrielle's shoulder and gave a small squeeze before they both bolted in the direction of the tracks.

It didn't take long before Sarah and Eve ran into a decent amount of traffic heading in the same direction they were. Women were pushing their young children in carts, while older siblings were loaded down with whatever they were able to grab before leaving home. The two newcomers were able to travel a bit faster due to their lack of burden. Sarah had only her ruck-sack and Eve carried nothing more than a small cloth bag that held all the possessions she owned. After glancing at it, an idea popped into Sarah's head.

"Eve, I need you to keep something for me. " She said, digging through the inside pocket of her jacket and pulling out a pouch.

Eve took the offering and asked, "What is it?"

"It's my way back home." Sarah said soberly. "I'm going to be fighting and the last thing I need is for it to fall out of my jacket and get lost in the woods, or worse, get crushed by any number of blows I might take. You'll be a lot safer than I will if things get rough, so I need you to take care of it."

Eve nodded and turned so Sarah could place the pouch in one of the pockets on her bag, then tightened the strap around her shoulder.

"I'll do my best to keep it safe." She said.

Sarah nodded, and they continued on. By the time they made it across the bridge they started seeing what looked like militia members, though they seemed to be extremely young. As the time traveler approached a group of five of them she saw that they were indeed young. She guessed the average age to be about fifteen.

"Excuse me." She interrupted. "My name is Sarah; I was sent by Liu Xiu to aide you in protecting the women and children. Who's in charge here?"

"Li Fung." One of them said and then pointed to a middle aged man in makeshift armor. "Over there."

"Thanks." Sarah said as she walked over to receive her orders. "Li Fung?" She said upon approach.

"Yes?" He said, turning to address her.

"My name is Sarah." She said with a bow that was returned. "I was sent by Liu Xiu to…"

"…Yes, to take over my post. Good, you're just in time." He said, pulling out a map and moving a few steps away to set it on a fairly large rock.

"Um, I'm sorry," she said as she followed him. "You're confused about something. I'm just here to help out. There was no discussion about me being in charge."

"And there's not going to be one now either. I have to be at the Shung Hui pass to mount an attack against an imperial training camp. You can either listen to the plan I've worked out for your defense or I can get a head start on my way."

"No, you don't understand. There is absolutely no way I could lead these guys. And how old are they anyway, I haven't seen one militia member other than yourself that looks to be over the age of seventeen."

"There isn't one at this post. And they're about to be left with a clueless leader if you try to argue with me one more time. I have a very important job to do, girl, and you are keeping me from it."

Sarah could do nothing but stare at him. She didn't dare open her mouth, and risk being left there without an escape plan.

"Good." Said Fung. "Now you have two exit strategies if the army decides to attack. You won't want to use them until necessary because the people here need to rest through the night, otherwise they won't be able to travel tomorrow when reinforcements arrive. Just make sure you only leave if absolutely necessary. For the first plan you will have to divide your men into two groups. One will stay here and delay the imperial troops; the other will escort the innocents to a safe point. If you travel far enough into the forest you will see that it is formed around a great deal of rock formations. If you travel quickly enough in the northwest direction you can move all the non-combatants through a small break in the formations. There is a path that leads directly to it and it's marked on the map. There are large, loose rocks on the top of both sides of the formation. I've left you with a few decorative fireworks; if you shoot them off at a good angle they'll hit the rocks. They should either land on the imperial troops or stop them in their tracks. From there you can hide in a small series of caves."

Sarah just stared, dumbfounded. She was trying to process all of the information, and at the same time keep herself from begging the man to stay and lead the boys himself.

"Do you understand?" He asked as if she'd suddenly become an imbecile.

When she still didn't answer Eve stepped in.

"What's the second option?" She asked.

He looked the messenger over for a second. At first he was annoyed that his focus had shifted, but her self-assured tone somehow gave him a reassuring feeling.

"You can keep all of your men here and send the non-combatants west through the forest to hide in the swamps. They should have a good enough head start to elude the troop and even if they're followed the soldiers won't go past the borders of the forest and waste time in a swamp looking for women and children."

"This plan works out better for the women and children," Eve said. "But the ones left behind to fight will most likely die in the fight."

"That is correct." Fung said.

"And if we take the first option we risk losing everyone if we can't move the women and children fast enough, but there is a chance that more of the militia fighters will survive." The messenger continued.

"Exactly. Now it seems like you have a grasp of the situation, and I need to be on my way. Good luck to you both." And just like that the man grabbed his gear and set off on his journey.

Sarah stared at the man's back with her mouth partially open in shock. She felt Eve tugging at the sleeve of her coat, but she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the man that was leaving her the responsibility of protecting all the people around her. It wasn't until Eve said her name for the third time that she responded.

"What?" She asked.

"Do you understand what our options are?" Eve asked.

"Um yeah." She looked back at their deserting leader one last time and gave up hope that he would turn around and relieve her of her post.

"Yeah, I got it." Sarah said, and then looked back to Eve. "We're totally screwed."

"Help! Someone help me! I'm down here." The prince yelled.

Rada let out a rather loud chuckle as she finished attaching his chains to the wall.

"Do you really think anyone is going to come down here during a time like this? All of your men are either defending the palace, or guarding your father. Plus you of all people should know how hard it is to hear anything that goes on down here. You insulated it well enough so as not to disturb your guests." The Slav said.

The look of fear on the prince's face was becoming tempered with anger.

"So the animal can speak." He said to her as he spit in her face.

Rada wiped her cheek then grabbed him by the throat.

"Oh I can talk pretty well actually, but there won't be much need for words in a few moments. In fact I have only one thing to say to you before I slowly," She squeezed harder on his throat for emphasis, "take your life. I want you to know that you did this. You stole me from my home, forced me to fight in your sick little tournaments, and used me for whatever else was too dirty for your guards and I did it. If you'd never asked me to kill those girls none of this would have ever happened. I'd still be your dog, and you'd still be waiting to rule your kingdom. But that's all gone now, and it's all your fault. The Empire will fall because of your pathetic plot."

She finally let go and he sucked in the stale air of the dungeon. His eyes followed her over to a bag of weapons she'd stolen from the armory before they left. Once she'd settled on a knife she turned and started for him. He knew he was going to die tonight. How long it took depended on how angry he could get her. The only hope he harbored was that her rage would force her to take his life quickly.

"You were wrong about something, you know." He said.

"Which part? The one where you die or the one where your empire falls?" She asked.

"The part where we stole you from your family." He said; a grin starting to form on his face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked; her own grin starting to fall.

"Look around you, vermin. I want you to think about all the cell mates you had. Were any of them from outside of Chin?" He waited for a response only for a brief second before continuing. "Of course they weren't. We don't just go around stealing peasants from the north we kill them. You got here because you were a girl that could fight like a man, and that's how your parents talked my men into buying you."

She swung at him and it felt like a ton of bricks had been thrown at his face. He spit blood and teeth from his mouth to the floor and just tried to breathe through the pain.

"You're lying." She said.

"Don't act like you're so surprised, you must have known how much they wanted to get rid of you after they found out about your unnatural ways." His smile was less complete this time, but it was still present. "You were cheap too; they must have tried it before but asked too much."

"They would never do something like that." She said. But her voice was faltering.

"That's what my guards thought, but when they asked your parents why they wanted so little for you they said they couldn't deal with the shame anymore. Soon all the people in town would fear that it would be you taking their daughters to bed instead of a respectable male suitor. My men paid less for you than they did for the chickens they brought back to breed, and your parents rejoiced in the burden being lifted from them."

He felt a hand grab at the back of his neck right before sharp, piercing pain overtook his abdomen. In an instance he was retching blood and shaking from the shock that was no doubt setting in. His time was almost over, and with any luck the end would come soon.

Rada held strong to the knife that was buried in the prince's stomach.

"After I kill you, I'm going to leave this place and join the fight against your army. And once we win I'll find my family again. They are going to take me into their arms and call me a hero while you lie in ashes. That is if someone decides to take pity on you and properly put your body to rest." She said.

"When you find them, and they turn you away, I want you to remember my laugh. The one that echoed in your ear whenever I beat you." The prince said.

He smiled one last time before the breath was force from his body as Rada pounded the knife into his torso. Her hand was covered in blood and the knife was starting to slip, but she continued to pump it into his lifeless frame only stopping when tears started to blur her eyes and she couldn't watch the life slip from him anymore. Once she let go his body slumped and the blood that had been pouring onto the floor started to slow its pace.

She wiped at her face and cleaned up the remnants of her pain.

"You're lying." She whispered softly to herself. Then, after grabbing the bag full of weapons, made her escape from the castle, and started her search for Sarah.

"I swear when we find them I'm tying Eve and Sarah together and dragging them onto a boat." Xena said as she trudged up the deserted road with Gabrielle. "I can't believe that _both _of them were stupid enough to stay here."

The response from Gabrielle was little more than a chuckle.

Xena noticed the small sound and looked toward the bard.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You're kind of cute when you're being hypocritical." The bard said.

"Excuse me?" Xena said, stopping in her tracks and crossing her arms. The bard stopped walking as well and explained herself.

"Come on, Xena, are you actually going to tell me that we haven't done the same thing a hundred times before?" She asked and put a gentle hand on Xena's shoulder. "Sarah feels bad for starting the war, so she wants to help keep innocent people alive. And Eve has this whole theory that Sarah is an instrument of Eli. She probably thinks it's her duty to stay by her side. They're brave and crazy. What makes this any different from an Innkeeper's daughter standing up to a warlord, or a small town peasant leaving home to chase after a hero?"

Xena thought for a moment, and then gave Gabrielle a small smile.

"I'm not sure what the difference is, but I know there is one because I'm always right. And sadly, we're going to have to end this conversation because there's someone moving through the bushes in our direction."

Xena drew her sword and Gabrielle pulled her Sais out of her boots in preparation for a fight. The fainted glint of armor was detected by both bard and warrior, which made them fear that a hostile soldier was headed their way instead of a friendly villager.

"We know you're in there, you might as well come on out." Gabrielle said as she tensed her muscles.

The armored form stepped out of the bushes and drew a freshly sharpened sword. Xena hated the fact that the Chinese soldiers sometimes wore helmets. Eye contact was a very big part of a fight sometimes. She twirled her sword and readied it for strike.

But in a surprise movement the soldier shoved the sword into the ground and reached up to remove the helmet. A dark head of sweaty hair was revealed along with the face of someone they hadn't expected to see. The bard and warrior eased their stances and breathed easier.

"What, no hugs?" Rada asked.

"What are you doing in those clothes?" Gabrielle asked.

"Well I had to get into the palace and kill the prince somehow. And this armor is actually more comfortable than you would think. So, are you guys on your way to find Sarah and Eve?" The Slav asked and was answered with two nods in affirmation. "Me too. Wanna go together?"

"Why are you trying to find them? You already got the prince; I thought that was the end of the line for you." Gabrielle asked.

"I guess the kindness Sarah showed me melted my cold heart a little bit." She said; sarcasm evident in her tone. "She helped me out, and now I want to help her. Let's not make a big deal about it ok?" She asked.

Xena and Gabrielle looked at each other in consideration of Rada's offer of company.

"I brought lots of extra weapons." The assassin said as she moved back in the bushes to grab her bag.

Xena nodded at Gabrielle then spoke.

"Ok, you can come with us, but you're probably gonna want to lose the impirial adornments. You might be mistaken for the enemy once we reach the strong hold."

"Oh fine." Rada said as she shrugged out of the armor and re-attached the sword to her side. She then reached inside the bag for a quiver, which she attached to the opposite side of her belt, and a bow that she secured over her head and left shoulder.

"Are you any good with that thing?" Xena asked.

Within second Rada grabbed the bow and fired an arrow over Xena's shoulder and into a piece of rotten fruit hanging in a tree that was quite a few paces away. The warrior and Bard both turned to marvel at the accuracy of the shot, then looked back at Rada.

"I'm good enough." Rada said, and then explained her skill when she got no response from her two companions. "We had to hunt really small birds sometimes during the winter when I was a kid. If you didn't shoot good and fast, you didn't eat dinner. So, can we go now?"

Xena nodded then turned her head quickly to the right hand fork of the road. She could hear armor and horses marching in the same direction they were.

"There are quite a few soldiers headed in the same direction we are." Xena said

"Should we try to run ahead of them, or meet them and fight them off?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena was quiet for a few seconds as she thought, then looked to Rada.

"Are you good at climbing trees too?" The warrior asked, a plan obviously weaving itself into existence.

"You know, screwed isn't even an adequate word for what we are." Sarah said as she paced in front of Eve. "Fucked, is a much better expression. We are totally fucked."

The words just turned to mumbles at that point and Eve watched Sarah form her own path in the ground with her steps. To say the young girl was not prepared to lead a contingency would have been a major understatement. But the mumbling wouldn't get them anywhere and they had to set up a defense.

"Sarah." Eve said, stepping into her path and halting her at the shoulders. "Ok, I know you're pretty… freaked… right now." Eve said, trying the word out on her tongue.

She had been doing that lately so that Sarah might feel some sort of connection to her. It was the second time she'd done it, and she couldn't exactly tell if the word was used in the right context with the way Sarah was staring at her, but she continued.

"I know you're not thrilled with the situation here, but that won't stop the soldiers from coming and killing these people. We have to organize the few men we have and make a stand. But first you have to make a decision." Eve asserted.

"Ha!" Sarah huffed. "I can't make a decision involving burgers or pizza and you want me to choose one of two paths that leads to death for a number of people? Eve, I am not qualified to do this!"

"Well you lost the ability to walk away from this decision when you chose to stay instead of getting on that boat. What did you think would happen? That you would come here and everything would be easy? It's a war, and if you bit off more than you can chew you're just gonna have to swallow. You're here right now, and you have to act."

Eve's last statement ran through Sarah's head as she looked at the messenger's bag. All she had to do was grab the stone out of the bag, say a few words and she would be back in the safety of her own home. This one battle would certainly not affect the entire war. She was disgusted with herself for even considering the option, but the truth was that the most appealing option did rest in that worn bag.

"Eve, I'm not a hero." She said, looking her in the eye. "In all honesty, where I'm from, most people don't even remember what a real hero is. I don't know how to lead people, and I certainly don't know how to lead them to their death. I have nothing to lose here, because I can't die, but these people…" She looked around and swallowed hard. "Jesus Christ, half of my 'men' are just boys."

"You don't have to be a hero, Sarah. All you have to do is what's in your heart." She reached for the stone in her bag. "Is this what you want? I won't fight you for it. You can have it right now. But even if you take it you've still made a decision that affects these people. You just won't have to see the consequences." She held out the stone and walked closer to the girl.

_That goddamn green stone._ Sarah thought as she looked into its emerald depths yet again, then she looked into Eve's eyes and spoke with timidity.

"What's it like to watch innocent people die right in front of you?"

It was said without even the tiniest bit of animosity. Eve could tell that, though Sarah may not have to worry about losing her life in this battle she still had a lot of innocence that was up for grabs.

"I wish I could give you a clear answer, Sarah, but mine is extremely muddled. Whenever I was at war the innocent people were usually dying under my orders. It's when I look back on my past that the lives lost actually affect me, and that pain is mixed with guilt. All I can tell you is that you won't be the same person if you decide to stay for this fight."

Sarah took the stone in her hand, and with a deep breath turned Eve around. The messenger could feel a couple of tugs to her bag, and Sarah spoke again.

"Keep that safe. I'm gonna need a lot of expensive therapy after this and I'm pretty sure my insurance won't cover me thousands of years before I'm even born." She could tell Eve was completely confused by the joke. "I'm staying."

Eve let a smile cross her face before nodding.

"I knew you would. And whether you believe it or not, that's what makes you a hero."

"Yeah, well let's hope my sidekicks arrive soon because we're gonna need them." Sarah said. As she stepped back toward the map Eve followed. "I think that the best option is to stand and fight, then make a run for the caves. I know it's a gamble, but if it works more people live. We'll organize the...fighters near the bridge. It'll serve to bottleneck anyone coming across the river, and we'll get to fight fewer men at one time. That's where I'll be, and hopefully Rada, Xena and Gabrielle will be here to help me. I want you to get the women and children ready to move. I know they probably want to rest, but that's not an option tonight. We have to be ready to get them out of here at a moment's notice. As soon as I give the signal, you lead them to the caves and I'll follow when we have to retreat. What do you think?" She asked the professional.

"I think you're going to make a pretty good leader." Eve said.

"Ugghh, you are way too cheesy to be a reformed warlord. Try to take it easy with the sentiment and tell me what you really think." Sarah said.

Eve laughed at the honesty, and then spoke.

"If I were in charge I wouldn't do anything differently. I think you've chosen a fine strategy." She said with a purposefully detached voice.

"Ok, well let's get everyone organized, and hope it works as well in practice as it seems to in theory."

And with a nod from the messenger they separated to address their subordinates. As Sarah approached the rag tag attachment she'd been given to lead she fought the urge to tell them to just run for their lives. They had all stopped what they were doing and were looking right at her, awaiting some kind of guidance.

_I wonder if you feel physical pain when you lose a part of your soul. _She thought just before raising her arms to bring everyone closer to her.

"Ok, everybody this is what we're going to do…"

As she spoke she looked into each and every set of eyes that searched her own. And while her mouth spouted out orders, her eyes projected the one thought she couldn't exercise from her head.

_I'm sorry._

The clank of armor was surprisingly loud as the soldiers marched through the forest. Their goal was to scout out any rebel camps, engage, and send for back up if needed. They were tired from having been woken about an hour into sleep, but they were also wary. Things were not looking good if the palace had already been taken. No one even knew if the Emperor was safe.

Different thoughts raced through their heads as they pushed forward, but they were halted with the gurgling sound made by one of the men in the back. The leader of the small group called everyone to a halt, and then walked around to see that the man was dead. An arrow was sticking straight through his neck.

"Ayiyiyiyiyiyiyi… Shi-ya."

Before the man could even turn toward the sound he noticed the sword sticking out of his gut, then retreating backward. He fell to his knees without ever having uttered an order to his troops. They drew their weapons valiantly and rushed the warrior. Two fell to the ground with arrows sticking out of their backs and Xena gave off a growl ash she twirled around, swinging her sword with precision.

Two more down, and the men proceeded with more caution.

They didn't hear the silent bard stalking up behind them, Sais drawn. With a heavy hand she slammed the base of her sigh into the back of her primary target's head. One of two things would happen once he became unconscious. Either more men would turn around and she could take some of the heat off of Xena, or no one would turn around and she could start the whole process over again. Three men turned and Gabrielle manipulated her Sais into the defensive position. Meanwhile arrows rained down on anyone they were too preoccupied to handle.

In the tree's Rada was developing a familiar callus between her index and middle finger from the amount of arrows she was doling out. She had already used three quarters of her quiver. If the fight didn't end soon she'd have to vacate the trees and help from a more cozy position. As she flew through her last few arrows she took in the spectacle that was Xena: Warrior Princess and Gabrielle the Battling Bard of Potadeia. It was like a dance in some ways. The way they moved out of each other's way, or took time from their own personal fight to stop a detrimental blow aimed at the other. Rada was sure it took practice, but it was also something that they seemed to fit into: like it had to be those exact two people for things to work out so well.

She fired the last arrow at a man coming up behind Xena with a sword posed to swing at her head. As the Slav pulled the arrow back to her cheek she breathed in heavily, then relaxed her fingers and let the breath go. The arrow hit its mark right between the man's eyes and within seconds Rada had slipped down the tree to help with what was left of the fight. It was done before she even got there. Xena was grabbing a sash off one of the dead men to wipe the blood off of her sword and Gabrielle was putting her Sais back into her boots.

"Do any of them have arrows, cuz I'm out?" Rada asked.

"I saw a few with bows, so I'm sure you can stock up. Just look around. And see if you can find some lamp oil too. It's dark out here and we may need some light later on." The bard said, then turned to address Xena as Rada searched the corpses for arrows. "Do you think this is the only advance group they'll send?" She asked.

"Yeah, and that gives us some advantage but not a huge one. They'll notice by morning that this group didn't return and they'll probably send even more. This just bought us some time."

"Well then let's not waste any of it." Rada said, suiting herself up with quite a few more quivers. She passed the lamp oil over to Gabrielle. "I'm ready."

Xena chuckled a little at the girl's spirit, and then nodded her head in agreement as she led the way. She never noticed the man that had hidden himself in the nearby bushes. This was mostly due to the fact that he had only just remembered to breathe once the three women walked away. Once he had broken away from his fellow soldiers he took cover, so he wouldn't be hit by the arrows. It was dark out and even the light of the moon wasn't enough for the archer in the trees to see him. He waited until he couldn't hear them anymore and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

He had to tell his superiors about the three warriors. Surely they would forgive his cowardice if he led them to a rebel base.

Sarah looked on at the wall of young men that guarded her camp, then out to the forest that could have been hiding hundreds of enemies. Everything was so quiet it was hard to imagine anyone in the trees. The women and children had already bedded down for the most part, though she wondered if it was even possible for them to get any sleep under the circumstances. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Eve's approach. She could tell it was her by the soft sound her shoes made on the ground. They were like slippers more than boots and allowed the messenger to tread lightly on the earth if she needed to.

"How are things on your end?" Sarah asked.

"Same as you it looks like. Everyone is pretty quiet. Of course I can't imagine it would be otherwise, they're all afraid they're going to die." The messenger said.

Sara chuckled lightly and crossed her arms.

"What was that about?" Eve asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Nothing important. Just that normally I'd say something like 'I like proving people wrong' but really I'm just as afraid as they are."

Eve let a small grin creep up on one side of her face.

"Well don't worry; I'm sure your cocky bravado will return with full force once this is all over. Obnoxious behavior like yours is really hard to lose." The messenger said as if she were telling a blind person they would regain their sight in a couple of days.

It garnered the intended response. Sarah chuckled a little harder than she had before.

"You know, you're actually kind of cool when you're not such a lame religious zealot." She fired back.

"Oh, I'm not a zealot. You have to have more followers for that." Eve joked and finally got a full bodied laugh from Sarah. It was cut off quickly though by the sound of her lookout's voice.

"Commander, there are strangers approaching!" He yelled and both women raced to the front line.

"Ready for action." Sarah called out as she pulled her bat from the make shift sheath she had fashioned in the camp.

She scanned the forest, but it was really dark at this point. The moonlight only serving to illuminate the bases of the river and all the water in between.

"I can't see shit, what's he talking about?" She asked Eve as she squinted.

Eve looked hard, and her eyes caught the glint of something in the distance. Whoever it was they were headed straight for the bridge.

"There, you see that?" She said and pointed the flash out to Sarah. "It could be a sword or a piece of armor.

Sarah tensed as they waited to see more of the enemy. The glint Eve had originally seen was coming into view better and it started to take on the shape of a very familiar "round killing thing."

"It's Xena, it's gotta be. That thing looks like her chakram." Sarah said as she gave the order for the line to relax. Soon three women emerged from the forest and Sarah and Eve both ran to greet them.

Normally there would have been a round of hugs between mothers and daughter, but the look on Xena's face told Eve that now may not be the best time. This did not, however, stop Sarah from nearly bowling Rada over.

"You came!" She said, as she backed off and clapped the Slav on the shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have anything else to do tonight." Rada said sarcastically, and then remembered the hand gesture Sarah had taught her earlier. They bumped their fists together then looked at the tense situation developing between the other three women.

"Mother, Gabrielle." Eve said in greeting. She was trying to sound like an accomplished adult, but ended up coming off more like an obstinate child.

Xena put her hands on her hips and jutted her chin out before she spoke.

"Eve I'm not even going to begin to tell you how stupid it was for you to get off that boat partially because I should be yelling at Sarah for not getting on it in the first place." The warrior shot a steely glance at the time traveler, and then continued. "But I'll save all of that for later, because Gabrielle said I shouldn't yell at you now because I really don't want our last words to each other before going into battle to be from a place of anger. So even though you made this incredibly stupid, selfish, arrogant, immature move that could…"

"We love you and we're glad you're ok." Gabrielle said, shooting a look to Xena and moving in to hug Eve. The messenger gladly accepted the hug and closed her eyes as she embraced the bard. Gabrielle looked over her shoulder to Xena and used her head to beckon the warrior over. With a sigh the warrior moved closer and wrapped her arms around them both.

She kissed the top of the messenger's head and whispered a soft 'I love you.'

"Well it's really touching to see you guys connecting like this and all, but we should probably get behind the line so I can let Xena in on the plan."

"Luckily you won't have to rush through it." Xena said, breaking off from the embrace and addressing Sarah. "We happened upon an advance party on the way here and wiped them out. So we've got at least until morning to wait for an attack."

"Are you serious?" Sarah asked and was answered by a nod by Gabrielle and Rada.

"Well that's great!" she said. "We've got reinforcements coming in the morning to help escort the party. We're totally saved! You guys rock!"

And at that point Sarah pummeled Xena and Gabrielle with hugs. Within seconds Eve joined in and Rada rolled her eyes.

_She had no way of knowing that it would be the last feeling of elation to fill her heart with hope for the rest of their time in Chin. As Sarah thought back on it she almost laughed at her own naivety. They had been searching for Eve for almost an hour and there was still no sign of her. As she continued to trudge through the forest she thought about the moment when it all fell apart. _

_Xena and Gabrielle hadn't even been in the camp for an hour before the lookout's cry shattered their conversation about the possible evacuation plan. They scattered to see what the commotion was all about and it was at that point that they realized something had gone very wrong. The Emperor's army had been tipped off about their position, and they were coming in force. _

_Sarah trudged on harder through the forest as she thought about her stupidity. She should have kept her guard up, readied the boys anyway. But hindsight is 20/20 and, now all she has to focus on is finding Eve. She knew that everyone was probably blaming her for Eve's disappearance and they were pretty much right. Sarah might not have wanted these results, but she was the reason Eve got cut off from the rest of the group. It was her angry words that sent the messenger away. Her jaw clenched as her mind ran over the scenario yet again. She felt the same way now as she did when she got into her first car wreck. Disconnected from her body and constantly wondering if maybe she was lucky and this was all a dream. _

"Enemy approaching!"

The cry came from above their heads and all eyes turned in its direction.

"Surely he's mistaken." Eve said.

"I thought you said that you took care of the advance crew; that we wouldn't have any trouble until at least morning?" Sarah asked. She could feel her chest becoming tight with fear.

"We did, one of the bastards must've gotten away." Xena said as she ran to the lookout station and the rest of the women followed.

As the warrior climbed to the post they all watched and waited hopefully for a mistake on the part of the lookout. But the look on Xena's face after having squinted towards the woods was enough to tell them that the boy had a good eye.

"How much time do we have?" Gabrielle asked, not even bothering to ask if the soldiers were coming

"Five, ten minutes tops." Xena said as she made her decent.

"How many men?" The bard asked before she even reached the ground.

As Xena turned to face her the features on her face were grave.

"Too many for this group to possibly handle." She said.

"Well what should we do?" Sarah asked.

"What we planned to do anyway. Just expect more casualties." Xena said before addressing the young men they had at their disposal. "Everybody listen up!" She yelled.

"Xena wait!" Sarah said, grabbing the arm of the warrior. "Look we had a plan B where everyone just runs and I think with the circumstances being what they are we should go with it."

"I have an idea." Eve interjected, but was overshadowed by her mother.

"We don't have time for that, plus it was the weaker plan of the two anyway. It'd be nothing more than chaos and more people would end up dead. We have to stand and fight while the women and children make a run for it."

"There might be another way." The messenger tried again as Sarah piped back in.

"Xena they're just kids, and they're all probably gonna die here. There has to be another way!"

"Well there isn't!" The warrior growled into Sarah's face.

"Look, if we just…" Eve cut herself off and left the party as she realized she wasn't getting anywhere.

Xena and Sarah only continued for a few more seconds before Gabrielle cut them off.

"Hey!" She said putting her hand on both of they're shoulders. "While you two were arguing Eve snuck off and grabbed a few of the soldiers, they're heading for the bridge."

"What?" They both said in unison.

Not only had Eve dragged some of the boys along with her to the bridge she was talking to Rada about something on the way. The boys were grabbing all the skins of lamp oil on their way to the bridge and with a nod of her head the assassin headed up to the lookout tower. Xena, Gabrielle and Sarah ran down to see what was going on.

"Eve, what are you doing?" Gabrielle asked.

"I'm having them put the lamp oil on the bridge then we're going to tie a bag full of those fireworks to the middle. Once the soldiers start to cross Rada will shoot flaming arrows at the bridge and the bag and the enemy won't be able to cross. I tried to say something but you two were too busy arguing and we need to move fast. If we do this we may lose the reinforcements on our side of the river, but the imperial troops are going to have to fight them off."

They were all simply staring at her surprised at such a violent initiative being instigated by the messenger of peace.

"Look I used to be pretty good at keeping my men alive and that's what I'm trying to do here. It just seems like our best option." Eve said looking down at the ground.

"It is." Xena said with a half smile. "It's a great plan sweetie."

"So what do we do right now, wait until the guys come through and just light it up?" Sarah asked.

"Pretty much." Eve answered. "I figured it would be a good idea to position our soldiers as if we were preparing to fight, just so things don't look suspicious, but otherwise it should be a fairly simple process."

Sarah felt like she could breathe again.

"Thank god. Ok, I'm gonna head up to the watchtower to keep a look out with Rada. I'll give the signal when they're about to approach and come down to help out just in case." She gave Eve a light punch to her shoulder. "Nice one Peacemaker."

As she left the three women Gabrielle and Xena looked to Eve quizzically.

"You two getting along better now?" The bard asked.

"Yeah." Eve answered. "You know I think I'm really making progress with her."

Rada was scanning the area and waiting for the first sign of encroachment when she heard someone climbing up to join her.

"How's it looking?" Sarah asked as she made her way next to the dark assassin.

"Not bad, they're finishing up with the oil and in a few minutes they'll have tied off our little bag of tricks to hang underneath the bridge." She answered.

"Awesome. Do you think you'll be able to hit it? It seems pretty small from up here."

Rada answered with a cocky statement, but Sarah didn't hear her because as soon as she had squinted enough to really see the bag she realized that there may have been a terrible mistake about to happen.

"Shit!" She exclaimed before barreling down the ladder.

Rada just stood there at first, then called down to her friend.

"Fine don't have faith in me. We'll see what happens when I blow that bridge to hell."

When she got no response she simply shrugged her shoulders and moved back to her previous position. The soldiers were getting close and she needed to be ready.

"Eve!" Sarah cried out as she ran over to the messenger.

"What? What's wrong?" Eve asked, concerned. Xena and Gabrielle were organizing the boys and further explaining the plan.

"Whose bag is that hanging under the bridge?" She asked, breathing hard.

"Don't worry it's not yours, it's mine. We needed something to put the fireworks in and I didn't want to ask these poor people to give up anymore of their possessions. I just put all my stuff in with yours; I didn't think you'd mind."

Sarah put her hands on both of Eve's shoulders.

"Eve, tell me you emptied all of the pockets on the bag!" She said it as if her life depended on it.

"Of course I did, I mean…" She trailed off as soon as she realized what had Sarah so spooked. "The pouch." She said as her eyes grew wide.

"Yes, the pouch I needed you to take care of for me, tell me you took it out." She was squeezing her shoulders harder, but as Eve's eyes met hers she didn't even have to wait for her answer.

"Oh god." Sarah said as she turned to look at the bridge, before she even saw the troops coming she heard Rada sound off the warning.

She could see the arrow flying through the air every millisecond of its journey toward her most precious possession in this world. As the fiery igniter barreled through the night sky every hair on her body stood erect. For one small second she thought that maybe the assassin would miss her mark and she could cry out for the plan to halt. But she knew that if Rada was as skilled with that bow as she was with rest of her fighting skills there was no hope.

She not only saw the blast, but felt the heat from the flames and fell to her knees. She was screaming on the inside, but her open mouth didn't make a single sound. The unfortunate men who had started to cross the bridge were screaming the way she could not. Their bodies either in agony from the fire, or in fear of the fall off the collapsing bridge. And just like that, the life she knew and longed to go back to was gone.

Shouts of victory were rising all around her and it all seemed to happen in slow motion. She could see Rada pumping her fist in the air and no doubt shouting obscenities at the fallen men. Xena and Gabrielle turned toward the cheering masses of women, children and young warriors; satisfied smiles on their faces. It was only when someone touched her on the shoulder that real time returned and Sarah found her voice again.

She knew it was Eve who had just dared to touch her, and she wasn't having it at all. She rose off her knees and turned toward the messenger.

"Tell me you took it out." She said as tears started to form in her eyes. She knew what the answer was going to be, but there was still a part of her that was hoping against all reasoning that the messenger had held on to her stone.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry." Eve said, tears forming in her eyes as well.

"Tell me you took it out, Eve." She raised her voice.

"I forgot that you gave it to me to take care of and I just didn't check…" She said, shaking her head in shame.

Sarah grabbed her by the tunic and came within inches of her face.

"That stone was my family Eve, my fucking family! It was everything I knew and ever wanted to know and I trusted you with it. How could you do this? How could you be so god damn stupid?" She was screaming at this point as tears slowly fell down her face.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," Eve said as her voice quivered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Sarah's mouth curled in a growl and just before she could continue her verbal assault she noticed that the crowd had hushed and Rada's voice could clearly be heard above the surrounding stillness.

"Retreat! Retreat!" She yelled. But it wasn't in mockery as Sarah would have expected. The cry was serious and it was for the rebel forces. "They're cutting down a tree to cross the river!"

Nothing could have possibly made this situation worse.

Sarah harshly shoved Eve to the ground, but her voice was eerily calm when she spoke.

"It didn't even work. It was your plan and your mistake that ruined my life and it didn't even work." The last three words were dealt out slowly and deliberately like blows to the gut. "Gather up the women and children and see them to the caves. Hopefully you won't screw up their lives as well."

As she turned she heard Eve get up and address her one more time.

"Sarah please, I need you to know that I'm sorry." She said with tears in her eyes.

She didn't even turn around when she spoke.

"Eve I don't need to know anything from you at this point. Honestly, I don't even care if you're breathing. Now take the women and children out of here or assign someone else the task. I have to go fight in the darkness beside boys who will die."

She walked off not even caring if Eve was trying to talk to her again. She'd just lost everything and didn't even have a second to mourn it. As Eve watched her receding back she allowed the tiniest sob to escape then moved to organize the escape party.

As Sarah approached Xena and Gabrielle she saw that they had already assembled the ranks and were giving instructions on how to best take advantage of the situation.

"Archers!" Gabrielle said. "Try to hit men that are standing close to one another. It will be hard enough to balance on the tree without someone knocking you off. Work on clusters to take out more men with fewer arrows."

"Squad one!" Xena screamed. "Use the fact that they are bottlenecked to your advantage. Get in close and try to push them off of the ledge. Remember that we're working under a lot of darkness so it'll be easier for us to see them than them to see us. Use that knowledge when you fight."

They'd barked out a few more orders before they even noticed Sarah had arrived. It was Gabrielle who saw her first.

"Are you ready?" The bard asked.

Sarah stared into the green eyes that mirrored Janice's and swallowed hard to fight back tears.

"As ready as I could be at this moment." She said with a crack in her voice.

"Ok, we're putting you back with…" Gabrielle started, but was cut off.

"I'm going in front." Sarah said.

"We can't risk that. You might be immortal, but a fall like that will break every bone in your body, not to mention I don't think you'd particularly enjoy drowning."

At this point all Sarah could do was laugh and walk away from Gabrielle as the bard tried to call after her. Xena noticed the scene and walked over to the bard to see what's going on.

"What's she doing?" The warrior asked.

"Fighting at the front of the line apparently." Gabrielle said with an exacerbated sigh. "I tried to tell her not to, but she wouldn't listen."

Xena was about to speak, but she heard the bare tree creak and moan on its way over to their side of the ravine. As soon as it hit the ground the soldiers started to cross.

"Well it looks like she's going to get her way. There's no time to stop her now. You take command of second squad and I'll go up front and try to make sure she doesn't do more harm than good."

As the men started to encroach upon them, Sarah drew her bat from its resting place on her back. There were at least twenty boys at the head of the line and she was making it her own personal mission to keep an eye on all of them.

_The faintest sound caught her attention as she made her way towards the mountainside. If she had been breathing any harder she wouldn't have heard it. The sound was akin to a child's whimper, but it was coming from one of the trees._

_**Oh god, I'm hallucinating.**__ She thought as she walked closer to investigate. _

_It was a very large tree but solid from what she could see on her side. Then as she circled it she noticed the small rotted opening at the bottom._

"_Hello?" She said._

_The whimpering had stopped, but she could detect the heavy breathing brought on by fear._

"_Hey it's ok; I'm not going to hurt you. I'm one of the good guys." _

_A small hand peeked out from the opening and it was soon followed by a head and a body. The boy couldn't have been more than five or six years old. His eyes were wide with fright at her haggard appearance, but he still cautiously proceeded out of the tree. _

"_Did you come to help her?" He asked as he stood and looked up at her._

"_Help who, sweetheart?" She said as she bent down to his level._

"_The lady who saved me." He said._

"_Was it the lady who led everyone to the caves?" She asked intently._

"_Yeah." He said with a guilty expression on his face. "I got scared and then I got cut off from the group. She told us to stick together but I ran out here instead of with the others."_

"_What happened to her?" Sarah asked. Not wanting the child's story to take on any useless detail._

"_She came out here looking for me, but there was a tiger. She told me to hide in here and then she led the tiger into the mountain." He started to sniffle a bit before he continued. "She hasn't come out yet."_

_As he was finishing his story Sarah had moved her attention to focusing on her back pack. She searched through a few different pockets before finding what she needed. She put the silver, cylindrical object around the boy's neck and began to instruct him on what to do._

"_Ok, I'm gonna go in there and find the lady who saved you. I need you to take this thing," She held up the device. "Put it in your mouth and breathe really hard into it."_

_He looked at the camping whistle and did as she said. The loud obnoxious sound pierced through the silent forest._

"_Ok good. Now keep doing that until you hear people coming this way. They should all be good guys at this point; we took care of the bad guys. Tell them what you just told me. If you see any other tigers stop whistling and hide in the tree again. Can you do that?" She asked. _

_He nodded and commenced with the whistling. _

_Sarah grabbed her bat and a light stick from the bag and headed toward what was most likely the tiger's den. _

_**My luck's been pretty shitty all day long. Hopefully that will change before I get mauled by a tiger.**__ She thought before cracking the light stick and walking slowly into the cave._

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Beginning

Chan Po raced through the new camp that had been established at the base of the mountain. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, but he was alive. Now the only thing that mattered to him was making sure his mother and brother were alive as well. When the emperor's men crossed the ravine on the tree they'd cut down, his mind went to the most random places. He remembered being an obstinate child and telling his mother that he hated her for making him work in the fields instead of play with the other boys. Then he flashed forward to shoving his brother because he'd broken one of his toys. As he fought through the entire battle, little snippets from his past would pop up in his mind and he wondered if he ever apologized for such trivial actions. In fact if it weren't for the crazy foreigner he would have died trying to remember when the last time he told his mother that he loved her.

But he didn't die, and he was here now. He would run to them and hug them both and scream it at the top of his lungs. Two of his friends had died right before his eyes and they wouldn't be coming back to their families like he was. He didn't care if running to his mother's arms made him look like any less of a man, he had only just become one that night and wasn't all that pleased with the difficulty it entailed. As he scanned the faces he saw delight, elation, pain, and worry, but it took a while for him to find that of his mother. Once he did he bolted toward her.

"Chan Po!" She screamed as their eyes met; tears streaked down her face.

"Mama!" He said smiling.

As he crashed into her he stroked his hair and held tight.

"Mama, you wouldn't believe it. I've never seen anything as wondrous and terrible as I saw tonight. We fought for nearly an hour and they just kept coming. People were dying all around me; some of them were my friends from school. Li Tsung was stabbed in the stomach, Fa Than in the back. It was all so horrible." He said frantically.

"I know, but…" she tried to interject, but he cut her off, his eyes far away from where they were now. In a place, she feared, that he may remain for the rest of his life.

"And then the foreigner, the one they left in charge, was screaming and provoking all of the soldiers she could find. They throttled her, I saw it myself. She was stabbed so many times yet did not die. And once the shock set into the soldiers she would knock them out with her heavy stick. She saved many of us, even me."

"Chan Po, listen to me…" She tried to interject again, but it was still to no avail. His story would be told now, no other time would do.

"I thought we would all die because they just kept coming. We had no time to recover from one group before the next was on our backs, but we stood firm and held our ground with no hope of surviving and then it happened." His eyes looked straight through her as he paused to remember every detail for himself. "There was a blast that knocked us all to the ground and as soon as I could get back up I watched the tree that all the men were using to cross float into thin air. The men that were on it fell down into the river and then it turned long ways and swung as if it were connected somehow to the sky. It took down almost all of the men on the other side of the river and the ones that weren't knocked over ran. And as I searched through the trees I could see him clearly commanding the large trunk; breaking the laws of nature. He had brought our men with him and they were pummeling the forces on the other side. All that was left for us were the soldiers who had crossed."

"And when the fighting was over he put the tree back down and walked over to talk to the crazy girl. I think they are gods. It must have been him who sent her to protect us. When they finished talking he told of more victories yet to come. He said that the castle had fallen and that soon a new Emperor would take the thrown. He then left us with most of the men and took a small group with him back across the river. He is leading the resistance mother, and with his power we will win." The starry eyed look on his face lasted for a few seconds, before he noticed something.

"Where's Li?" He asked.

She sighed with mild frustration. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, son. Li is missing. He got lost when we were running here. I tried to keep him close, but there was so much chaos, and now I don't know where he is." She let out a soft sob and put a hand to her mouth.

"Are they looking for him now?" Chan Po asked.

"The one called Eve went after him. She hasn't come back."

"YOU WHAT?" The scream broke through all of the family reunions and every one suddenly got quiet to see the source. It came from the tall dark warrior from the west. She was screaming at Chan Po's crazy girl.

"Xena, how was I supposed to know…" the girl argued.

"You sent her off without as much as one escort?" The warrior growled.

"I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was angry and I just told her to go...I…"

The warrior grabbed the girl by her collar and got in her face to talk.

"You better pray to at least one god you don't believe in that she is ok, because if she's not I will make losing that stone pale in comparison to the hell you'll have to live in."

Sarah thought back to that line as she entered the cave.

"Not even Xena could have thought up this scenario." She said quietly to herself.

There was no way this could possibly end up a pleasant experience. She could walk up and find Eve's shredded body at any moment, or find her alive and have to watch her get shredded. And no matter what order the massacre came in she would most likely have to face the tiger as well. She crept slowly through the dank cave. There were two sets of footprints in the silt; one pair of shoes and one pair of giant clawed foot pads. Swallowing hard she followed them further into the dark, the light stick illuminating only a small portion of her path.

The cave was eerily quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft trickle of condensation dripping off the overhanging rocks. Sarah held the bat at the ready and moved as stealthily as she could. Then she saw something that sent chills up her spine. There was a fork up ahead, both footprints lead to the right at first, but only the tiger's came back and went the other way. Either it lost interest in its dinner, or Sarah was about to walk up on Eve's corpse. She took a deep breath and wiped at her brow, though there was no sweat to dab away. With slow steps she entered the spacious cavern and braced herself for the gory scene.

Taking her time, she pivoted to check every corner, but found nothing and then she heard the smallest of whispers coming from her left. She turned and lifted the light to the direction of the noise and saw the Messenger, completely intact. She had somehow wedged herself high up in between two rocks. The tiger wouldn't have had enough traction to get to her, and must have grown tired of trying. It explained the second set of solitary tracks leading out of the room.

"Jump down, I'll catch you." Sarah mouthed more than whispered as she held her arms up and shoved the light stick between her teeth.

Eve seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds as she looked in the direction of the tiger tracks, but finally dropped from her perch. Her weight knocked both of them down with a soft thud and the scrambled back to their feet in fear of having alerted the dangerous beast. They heard nothing over the next couple of seconds and then began to breathe again.

Sarah grabbed the light stick from her mouth and pointed toward the exit before putting a finger to her lips. Eve nodded and they softly trekked out of the cavern. With slow cautious steps they walked toward the exit. The light of the entrance could just be made out around the next bend. With just a few more steps they would have been home free without a scratch on them; but then out of nowhere a growl loud enough to wake the dead started in Sarah's stomach. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten, and now her body was making sure to let her know it was time to remedy that. She grabbed at it as if that would stop the sound and eventually the rumbling ceased. The two women stood very still as they waited for the tiger to come running toward them. After a few seconds nothing happened and they breathed a sigh of relief before moving closer to the exit.

Then it happened again, only this time the noise was much louder. It made Sarah's gurgle sound like the buzzing of a bee. This noise wasn't coming from the young girl; it was a warning from their predator. Eve and Sarah both turned around slowly to look the animal dead in the face. It was assessing the situation and preparing to pounce.

"Get out of here and bring help. We both can't run or we'll lead it straight to the kid out there." Sarah said as she pushed Eve behind her towards the exit.

"Sarah I'm not leaving you here alone to fight that thing; it'll rip you apart." Eve said.

"Eve that thing is about to jump and one of us has to stay here. The longer you argue with me the longer I'm going to have to fight with it. Now get the fuck out of here." She yelled as she surprised all beings in the room and charged the tiger.

Eve could only watch for a few seconds before bolting out of the cave. Sarah's screams mixed with the tiger's growl could be heard all the way to the forest.

Xena and Gabrielle were still calling out for their daughter when they heard the shrill sound of a whistle off in the distance. It was loud and steady and both women caught wind of it at the same time.

"What is that?" Gabrielle asked. "Do you think that's Eve?"

"I don't even know if Eve can whistle." Xena said, moving toward the sound. "But whatever it is, it's certainly not an animal, so I think we should check it out. Be careful though, it could be an imperial attachment that got stuck out here last night."

They barreled through the forest to the constant sound when suddenly it ceased. Both women stopped and gasped for air to figure out what they should do next. A muffled sound could be heard coming from the distance, but Xena couldn't quite pick out what it was. She squinted her eyes in the direction of the noise as if that would help her hone her skills and after a few seconds she picked out a shrill scream.

"C'mon. Someone's in trouble!" She said, ushering Gabrielle into a run with her.

As they charged on the sounds got louder and the bard started to notice that they were amplified, as if they were coming from a theatre. Before they reached the source they saw Eve talking to a tree. _What in Hades is going on? _Gabrielle thought.

"Eve!" Xena yelled out as she reached her daughter.

"Thank the gods." Eve said as she turned.

Xena grasped her by the shoulders assessing any damage the messenger might have retained. When none was found the warrior hugged her to her.

"Eve, sweetheart, are you ok?" Xena asked as she pushed the girl away to look her in the face.

"Mother, I'm fine." Eve said and the look of relief on her face turned to one of terror. "But Sarah is in that cave fighting a tiger. I had to leave her there so I could protect the boy." She moved to reveal the child hiding in the tree.

"Take the boy back to the camp and bring back help just in case." Gabrielle piped in. "We'll go save Sarah."

Eve reached into the tree and grabbed the boys hand to pull him out.

"Be careful." Eve said. Her warning was earnest and she took a moment to look at the cave with trepidation before addressing them again. "I have a horrible feeling about all of this."

"Eve, we'll be fine. There are three of us, and only one tiger." Gabrielle said gently. "But we have to go now and so do you."

"Ok." Eve said, and then looked down to the boy. "C'mon, let's go."

As Eve disappeared into the forest Xena and Gabrielle quickly approached the cave, only to find the screaming stopped.

Sarah focused on, doing nothing more than breathing and holding her position as she tried to think of a way out of this one. After launching the initial attack on the tiger she saw that her bat alone would not be enough to defeat it. She'd only landed one good swing and she might as well have been using a fly swatter for all the damage it did.

Her own injuries consisted of a razor sharp gash to her right eye. She was lucky enough to move out of the way in time for the claw to reach just before her actual lid, cutting only the eyebrow above and the cheek below. As the tiger was off balance from the missed strike she took the opportunity to swing the bat again and nailed it right in the mouth. The tiger let out an awful noise and backed off for a bit. At that point she started running all along the cave before she reached a dead end and had to enter into combat again. This time her left thigh took the brunt of the damage as the tiger sunk its sharp teeth in to feast.

It only had grip on her for a few seconds before Sarah drew her knife and repaid the animal for the attack on her eye. Only she actually hit the mark and managed to blind it on the one side. The tiger reeled back in pain and gave her an opening to escape the dead end, but it didn't stay put. As Sarah took off it chased after her at a slower pace due to the loss of depth perception. It's what gave her enough time to find Eve's nook in the wall and scramble up there.

Breathing hard and cringing from the pain in her leg, she looked around the room as if there would be an answer written on the walls about how to get out of the situation. There wasn't one. She felt around her pockets as if the answer might be in there and she only found her Zippo.

_What good is that gonna do me? I have this stupid thing._ She thought to herself as she raised the glow stick.

As she made the motion the tiger growled and stopped pacing below, prepared to attack. Sarah looked down and monitored its attention as an idea started to form in her head. She moved the glow stick from side to side and the tiger followed it with its head. She then pulled the Zippo from her pocket and kissed it as if it were the key to a kingdom.

She moved herself into a lurching position and launched the glow stick toward the back of the cavern they were in. Sarah then scrambled down to the ground and struck the flint on the lighter. She grunted in pain from the wounds in her leg, but forced herself into a running limp toward the entrance of the cave. The lighter didn't put off as much light as the glow stick, but it was enough for her to make out the path of the walls if she shielded it from the air. As she ran in what she hoped was the direction to the exit she looked back to see if the tiger had followed suit. A loud growling could be heard in the distance, but she didn't see the animal on her heels so that was a good sign.

She didn't turn her head quickly enough to see the wall of warrior standing in front of her, but she did feel the strange yet oddly familiar feeling of a sword impaling her gut as she ran right into it. She grimaced at the discomfort and looked up to see Xena's horrified face.

Her mouth open in shock, she couldn't speak at all. Gabrielle came up from behind holding a makeshift torch made from a stick and some kind of moss. The bard quickly moved to Sarah's side.

"By the Gods! Sarah, are you alright?" She asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I've been better." Sarah said, and then motioned to the sword sticking out of her gut. "You think you could…" She said, addressing Xena quite casually considering the circumstances.

Xena finally closed her mouth to swallow, and then spoke with an unsure tone that even Gabrielle wasn't used to hearing.

"Well I was going to do that, but I didn't quite know the proper technique for something like this. Do you prefer a quick clean movement or something slow so as to not shock the system?"

"How bout we go with quick, being that there's a pissed off tiger in the cave." Sarah said.

"Quick it is." Xena agreed then extracted the sword with one swift motion.

"You're leg is bleeding, are you sure you're ok to walk?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yeah, but I'm certainly not gonna turn down help while I have it." She closed her lighter and stowed it in her pocket then put one arm over Gabrielle's shoulders motioning for Xena to take the other one.

The warrior obliged, but the three barely took one step before the growl of the tiger was ringing in their ears. Sarah was ripped from their arms and the tigers claws were ripping down her back. With one swift motion Xena swung her sword and nailed the beast in the hip. It turned on the warrior and Xena prepared to swing again. As the tiger tried to take on a lunge pose it lurched from the pain in its hip and backed away, deciding instead to simply circle the warrior.

Gabrielle's eyes did not leave the scene as she reached down to see if Sarah was alright. Her back was bleeding badly and she seemed to have hit her head as well.

"Sarah, can you hear me?" Gabrielle asked.

When there was no answer she asked again and got the same response.

"Gabrielle I think she's unconscious you're going to have to drag her out of here." Xena said, her eyes never leaving the tiger. "Take that flint thing out of her pocket and light it then give me the torch. You'll need light to get out of here and I'll need the torch to fight the tiger."

"Xena, I'm not leaving you in here alone with that thing." The bard said sternly.

"It's tired and injured Gabrielle. That tiger's working with one eye, a bleeding wound and it looks like a lost fang. Have you noticed that it hasn't attacked me yet? It's on the defensive, but Sarah doesn't need to suffer another attack; she's bad off as it is. Get her to safety, and then if I haven't put the animal out of its misery you can come back and help me fight it."

Gabrielle sighed and moved to give Xena the torch.

"Just be careful." She said as she handed the torch to the warrior and moved quickly to get Sarah out of the cave.

Reaching the girl's her pocket she found the lighter and quickly discerned how to get it to work. She then knelt down, grabbing one of Sarah's arms and placing it over her shoulder. It was a crude way to drag someone, but she needed one hand free for the light. As she slowly made her way to the entrance a growl could be heard coming from behind her. This time it wasn't the chilling feline variety they'd heard upon reaching the cave the first time, but the animalistic warning of her deadly warrior about to strike.

As Xena advanced on the tiger it swiped at her with its deadly claws. One of the swipes landed on her arm and she winced in pain only for a few seconds. She backed away and they were again at a standstill.

"You are a tough little bastard, I'll give ya that." She said drawing her chakram. "Maybe a long range attack is a better idea at this point. I promise to make it quick. You fought a good fight; you'll get a warrior's death."

The tiger's eye bored into Xena and it growled deeply. As she reared her arm back with the disc it dug its nails into the ground and lurched to the right just as she let the weapon loose. It' barely grazed the tiger's tail and ricocheted off the rock. Xena's eyes grew wide and she ducked just before it was about to lodge itself in her skull.

The clink and clank of the disc could be heard moving back in the cave. Xena chased after it and the tiger followed the warrior in pursuit. The clanking was finally resigned to one small niche of the cave and with a quick vault Xena flipped in the air and grabbed her sacred weapon. Once her feet hit the ground she quickly holstered it back to her hip. And put her sword out as a barrier for the tiger as it circled her once again. She quirked her lip up in the smallest smile, amazed at the animal's tenacity.

"I guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way." The warrior said.

Then both warriors' ears detected a growl that came from neither of them. It was a rumble that came from the mountain. She couldn't imagine how, but apparently all the commotion in the cave must have knocked something loose. The cave was about to collapse. As if they realized it at the same time they both sprinted for the exit. Even with its injuries the tiger was able to keep up with Xena. They ran side by side as the rocks around them started to fall.

It was becoming less dangerous as they reached the exit, and Xena focused in on taking care of the tiger before it reached Sarah and Gabrielle. She raised her sword up and drew it down swiftly, but the animal must have seen the motion out of its good eye because it lurched forward and the motion caused Xena to lose her balance. She fell face first onto the ground and tried to push herself up, but was stopped by a searing pain in her right leg. A massive rock had fallen right behind the knee. She looked back to assess the damage because the pain was too great to try to move out from under it. She cried out when she saw that the rock had likely crushed her kneecap.

Tears escaped her eyes as she forced them to look back at the tiger. It stared at her only for a few seconds before turning to exit the cave and leaving _her_ to die a warrior's death.

Once Gabrielle finally finished dragging Sarah to the tree where her pack was, she heard the rumble of the mountain. The cave was about to collapse and Xena was still inside fighting the tiger.

"Xena!" She screamed as she dropped Sarah to the ground and propped her against the tree. The girl was still unconscious, but she came second to Xena no matter what the situation.

"I'm sorry Sarah." She whispered softly and then took off for the cave.

It was then that she saw the Tiger limping out and rushing towards the forest. It didn't even see her and it was moving away from Sarah's direction so Gabrielle trudged on into the cave with only a hope that the tiger wouldn't find the girl.

As she entered the cave she was careful to watch for falling rocks as they started to come down in greater numbers. She used the lighter to find her way through until she saw the torch on the ground and Xena lying next to it, trapped under a rock.

"Xena!" She screamed as she made her way over to the fallen warrior. Tears started to form in her eyes as she saw Xena's anguished face.

"Gabrielle!" The warrior said almost apologetically. "Gabrielle I can't walk, you have to get out of here."

The bard said nothing only moved to push the rock off of Xena's leg. The warrior let out a blood curdling scream and her nails dug into the ground from the pain.

"Gabrielle, what are you doing? I told you to leave." She said with anger tinting her voice.

"I know you did. I just thought the request was so stupid it didn't warrant a response. Now wrap your arms around my neck and hold onto me while I carry you out of here."

"Gabr-"Xena started to speak, but she was cut off.

"Xena I can drag you like this and let your leg hit ever rock on the way out of here, or you can cooperate and hang on to my back, it's your choice. But either way I'm getting you out of this cave."

The warrior grimaced as she moved up to reach around the bard's neck and she cried out when she was lifted off the ground. And as the woman she loved more than anything in the world shouldered her burden once again, Xena let a small sad smile form on her face. She knew that one of two things would happen in the next few moments. Either the cave would collapse around them both and they would start the cycle of life again in search of each other, or they would reach the exit in time and Xena would never be able to fight, and perhaps walk, again. Leaving her the unchangeable fate of a life lived normalcy with Gabrielle. And while both thoughts were terrible, they were also comforting at the same time. They would always be together, and now they even had a chance at finding peace.

Blinding pain was shooting through Sarah's skull and across her back as she finally started to stir into consciousness. Her eyes were blurry as she opened them and a groan erupted from her throat as she tried to move. As her pupils began to focus she screamed in horror at the sight before her. Blood, fur, and fang were mere inches away from her face as the tiger stared into her eyes with its remaining ocular appendage.

She drew the knife quickly and waved it in front of her, causing the tiger to move back, but not run away. It simply stared at her; not growling, not attacking.

"Look, I know you probably came to finish me off, but you can't." She said, following with a hard swallow. "You might as well just leave things as they are, before the two of us get more disfigured."

It stared at her still. Sarah thought for a moment. Why wasn't it attacking?

"You know you can't kill me, don't you? You can tell somehow."

It still did nothing but stare. Both human and animal trying to understand the situation. Then suddenly there was a quick whoosh passing by Sarah's ear and an arrow buried in the ground at the Tiger's feet. It lurched and she yelled at it to run. Within seconds it was gone, it's footprints the only sign that it had even been there. Footsteps and yells emanated from behind her and she could only hope that it was a rescue group from the base camp. She found her hopes to be true when a strong hand clapped down on her shoulder and the dark eyes of the Slavic assassin were checking her over.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked taking in the blood that covered Sarah's head.

"Ah nothing, I just fought a tiger." Sarah said with a narcissistic smile.

Rada laughed, "Oh don't look so pleased with yourself; you can't die. It's not that big of an accomplishment."

Sarah laughed softly and then started to lose the small burst of adrenaline she'd had when the Tiger was facing her. Her eyes drooped and her breathing got shallow.

"I think I'm gonna pass out again. You need to go into the cave, Xena and…" She was cut off.

"Mother!" Came a scream, Sarah recognized as Eve's.

She slowly turned her head toward the direction of the cave and saw Xena, holding on tight to Gabrielle's neck as the bard carried her out of the cave on her back. Eve ran to both of them and before the darkness over took her, Sarah told Rada to do the same. As soon as the words left her mouth her body slumped and she fell into a deep sleep.

When Sarah awoke she had one of the worst headaches of her life and was laid out on a cot on her stomach. When she tried to get up slicing pain shot throughout the skin on her back.

"Fuck." She growled through gritted teeth.

"Sarah, stay down." Someone said.

She moved her head to the side and saw Eve kneeling at her bedside.

"I've cleaned the cuts on your back, but I haven't dressed them yet. I need you to be still." The messenger informed her.

"Oh that's gonna feel lovely." Sarah said with anxiety in her voice.

"Here." Said a voice to the other side of her. She turned her head to see Rada holding up a bottle of something that smelled particularly strong.

"Don't give that to her!" Eve chastised "That's just going to make things worse later on for her head."

Sarah grabbed the bottle and said, "I'll take my chances."

She painfully rose up to take a few long pulls from the bottle and coughed a little at the burning sensations running down her throat, then collapsed back down on the cot. She reached a hand up to her head and noticed that that wound had already been dressed. Then after the warmth started to fill her belly from the alcohol she made her mind think of something other than her body.

"What happened to Xena?" She asked worriedly, and then flinched as Eve started to apply salve to her back.

Eve locked eyes with Rada then took a deep breath before answering.

"The cave started to collapse before she got out of it and a rock fell on her right leg." She took a moment to work up the courage to get the rest out, but couldn't. Rada, seeing her difficulties, decided to continue for her.

"They've got her knocked out in one of the private tents right now. They don't know if they can save her leg and she was fighting them too hard to keep her awake…" The Slav said, then took a draught from the bottle herself. "They had to knock her out."

Sarah gripped the top of the cot and buried her head in the shirt they'd used for a pillow and screamed in frustration and guilt.

"God damnit, this is all my fucking fault!" She said.

"You're fault?" Eve asked in astonishment, "Sarah if it hadn't been for you, she wouldn't even be alive. I'm the one who got captured in Chin, didn't stay on the boat back to Greece and got cornered in the cave by the tiger. If she loses her leg it will be my fault."

"Eve, you know that's not true." Sarah said as she pushed herself up a bit and grabbed for the bottle again. "I'm the one who yelled at you and sent you away from the battle without any escorts, none of us would have been over there if it weren't for me."

As she drank from the bottle again, Rada piped in.

"Hey, you two can argue about it all you want, but it's not going to help anything and it's giving me a headache." She said taking back the bottle. "Let's talk about something else until we hear word from the healer, then you two can go see who Xena blames."

Both women got quiet as Eve finished putting on the salve.

"Ok, Sarah, I need to sit you up so I can wrap the bandage around you." Eve said. "Rada, help me out."

As Sarah pushed herself up she could still feel the gashes in her back stinging a little less than before. Eve and Rada helped her sit up and she tried to straighten herself as much as possible. She didn't even care that she was flashing the messenger, and they'd put up a sheet to prevent the rest of the camp from seeing her.

"How's it look?" Sarah asked.

"Oh believe me, this may be one of the best things to ever happen to you. Girls like scars and when you tell them you got yours from fighting a tiger it'll be much easier to get them in the bed." Rada said.

Sarah chuckled and Eve narrowed her eyes at the callous remark.

"How many scratches are there?" She asked.

"Four at the top and four right below that. It's not straight up and down, so the tiger must have got you at an angle." Eve answered.

"Shouldn't take more than a week or two to heal." Rada said. "Could be worse."

"Yeah, I could be losing my leg." Sarah said solemnly.

They all nodded in agreement and got quiet as Eve finished up the dressing.

Gabrielle sat there crying as she held Xena's hand and looked at her unconscious face. The warrior had vehemently fought the healer when he mentioned her losing her leg, and while Gabrielle didn't want that to happen either, she wanted the warrior alive and that was the most important thing right now. The healer behind her had been trying to reset the breaks in her knee for some time and the bard knew that he was just as scared as she was to remove the leg; only for different reasons. He cleared his throat and she turned to hear the verdict. His old face fell even more than it did naturally when he met her eyes.

"I'm sorry child, but saving her leg is beyond my abilities at this point. There are many breaks and crushed bones on the inside and they will infect. There is nothing else that can be done."

More tears slipped from Gabrielle's eyes as she bowed her head in defeat, then nodded. Without a word she'd given someone permission to take a part of her lover away. She could hear him calling outside of the tent for the needed supplies. She watched as the healer marked the area right above the warrior's knees as his helper started to heat a shield on one of the torches in order to cauterize the wound after amputation. A tight belt was placed above the incision mark and the healer nodded to her as if to say it was time. Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hand again and held tight as she kept her eyes on the warrior's face. She couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen.

The healer began to count in an effort to prepare the cauterizer and just as the count was about to reach three the flaps at the entrance of the tent whipped open and everyone turned to see who it was. Once the healer's eyes registered who the man was he fell to his knees and bowed his head all the way to the floor; his assistant followed suit. It took a few moments for Gabrielle to recognize who it was, but it soon came to her. This was the man that had started the war; the one with Lao Ma's powers.

Gabrielle stood up to greet him and bowed before wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Please stand." He said to the men in the room, before moving over to look at Xena.

"I heard that she hurt her leg." He said, examining the exposed appendage. "What's going on?"

The healer spoke. "My lord, her knee is crushed and there are many cuts on the inside. We cannot treat this and if we leave it this way infection will spread throughout her body and kill her. We must remove the leg."

"And I'm assuming she doesn't want this." He noted, touching the wound to her head.

"Yes." Gabrielle said.

Lui then stood up and took off his coat.

"The infection won't spread far right away." He said. "Give me some time with her and then we'll see if she has to lose it."

The healer nodded then they both looked to Gabrielle.

"Please," She said. "Please do whatever you can. Lao Ma was able to heal her legs at one point, maybe you can too."

He nodded and the healer and assistant left them alone. Lui unhooked the belt from the warrior's leg, and Gabrielle took her position back at her side.

"You love her very much." He said.

"More than I ever thought it was possible to love someone." The bard answered.

"Well then let's both have faith in the impossible, because right now she needs a miracle." He said, beginning the ritual.

Gabrielle nodded and kissed the warriors hand before answering.

"We're in luck. Xena pulls them off all the time."

Sarah had passed out again, not too long after Eve finished her dressing; leaving the messenger and the assassin alone to talk. More importantly, it left ample time for Rada to hit on Eve and have her advances spurned. The dark haired pacifist tried to steer the conversation elsewhere after a while.

"What do you plan to do after all this is over?" Eve asked.

Rada's eyes became dark, as she took another swig of the liquor then answered.

"I dunno. When I was captured all I could think about was getting back home, but now…" She went to a sad, far off place and Eve noticed it. "Now I think I might just see where Sarah is going. She's not so good at fighting if you hadn't noticed." She said with a smirk that tried to cover up her pain.

"Do you know where Sarah is going?" Eve asked.

"No, I figured you would." Rada said answered and Eve shook her head. "Doesn't really matter to me. I'm just tired of being alone. A couple years in a cell will do that to you."

There was a small silence and Eve simply watched as Rada took another sip and tried to find something interesting about the floor to focus on.

"Did you really kill the prince?" She asked.

Rada looked at her thoughtfully. "Does it matter to you?" She asked.

"Human life always matters, even if the person is…" Eve started, but then she was cut off by the nearly empty bottle being smashed on the floor.

"No!" the assassin screamed and brought her face close to Eve's. "You listen to me; there was nothing human about him, nothing! He's lucky I was too angry to torture him any longer than I did."

They stared off at each other for a few seconds then Eve's eyes flicked over to the smashed bottle under Rada's hand. She reached for the appendage.

"Here, let me see your hand." Eve said.

At first the girl pulled it away, but Eve didn't falter and she finally gave in and let her tend to it. Sarah had woken up when the bottle smashed and was trying to understand what was going on.

"Everything ok?" She asked.

"It's fine." Rada said while looking Eve in the eyes in a way that clearly stated the conversation was over.

"Yes, all is well." The messenger stated as she cleaned and dressed the small wounds on Rada's hands. "How are you feeling?" She asked Sarah.

"A little less worse for wear than I'd expected." The time traveler answered. "I want to see Xena now."

As Sarah got up Eve rose to stop her leaving Rada to tend to her cuts.

"Sarah, you shouldn't move around so much, you'll just aggravate the wounds on your back. The salve hasn't had nearly enough time to set."

"Look, I'm sure we can have a very heated debate as to why I should be resting right now, but let me save you the trouble and say that unless you plan on physically stopping me I plan to see how Xena is doing." She said in a bored voice. Eve looked at her as if she was about to argue anyway, but was cut off again. "Don't make me waste the energy, Eve. "

The messenger agreed with a shrug of her shoulders and helped Rada finish up.

"Put on a shirt and let me finish up here." Eve said. "Then we'll all go together."

When they reached Xena's tent there were two guards posted outside that informed them that they should wait outside until someone came out to give them the news. They did as they were told for nearly an hour when suddenly the flaps to the tent opened. Sarah and Rada recognized the man holding the flap as Liu Xiu. He made eye contact with all three women then stepped to the side to hold the flap open for someone to exit.

Both Sarah and Eve held their breath as they saw Xena slowly hobbling out of the tent with Gabrielle supporting her on one side. Both legs were intact, even if one of them was worse for wear. The messenger and the time traveler slowly approached, saying nothing. Xena looked them both over with intense features that softened suddenly into a smile. She guessed what they were both thinking.

"What, no hug?" She asked.

Eve rushed to her mother's arms while Sarah stood back, not knowing whether the invitation was extended to her as well. When mother and daughter finally broke apart the warrior gave Sarah the ok with a nod of her head and the young girl breathed a sigh of relief before accepting the invitation. When she broke off the questions started.

"So you're leg's going to be fine?" Eve asked.

Xena started to take small steps in the area outside the tent to test out her leg and let Liu explain.

"We can't know anything for sure right now, other than the fact that her leg won't infect and therefore won't need to be amputated. With some exercise and therapy she may have more mobility than she does right now, but there was too much damage to repair it all. Xena will most likely require a cane to walk for the rest of her life."

Both Eve and Sarah's faces fell.

"Is there nothing else that can be done?" Sarah asked, with little hope.

"I'm afraid not. " Liu said. "She's lucky to be upright at all. And even luckier that I happened by to check on the camp when I did. It was Lao Ma's special techniques that got her this far. Otherwise she would have lost her leg."

"I think that's about enough walking around for now." Xena said, trying to break up the conversation. "I don't want to push things right away. "

They all helped her back onto the cot in her tent, and the warrior let out an exasperated sigh as she hit the sheets. She looked over the two solemn faces of Eve and Sarah and shook her head with a grin. The two girls couldn't even meet her eyes.

"Do you all think I could have a moment alone with Eve and Sarah?" Xena asked.

Gabrielle, Rada and Lui Xiu nodded and exited the room, leaving the three women in privacy. Both of the summoned two were fiercely examining the floor until Xena spoke.

"So have you two worked out which one of you is more to blame for this?" The warrior asked.

"It was my fault." They both answered in unison then looked back down at the floor.

Xena let a small chuckle escape and then spoke again.

"I thought as much." She said. "Then I guess that means I owe _both_ of you a great deal of thanks."

"What?" Sarah asked as they both looked up in confusion.

Xena smiled softly and answered. "A couple of days ago I explained to Eve that settling down with Gabrielle has never been an appealing road to take because I would always feel the need to make up for all the wrongs I've done by fighting for the greater good. Well now that just isn't an option anymore. I can barely walk on my own, let alone fight. I'll have no choice but to settle down with the woman I love, and with the loss of that choice also goes the loss of my burden. So if you see that rock falling on my leg as both of your faults, then I am in a great deal of debt to both of you. Because you've given Gabrielle and I an actual chance to grow old together. So, thank you both." She said genuinely.

Sarah shook her head and looked back at the ground again, not buying the explanation.

"Xena I know you're trying to make us feel better, but…"

"She's not." Eve cut her off and looked at her mother with complete understanding. "It may be difficult for you to understand, Sarah, but I do believe that she's genuinely accepting of what's happened."

Sarah still challenged Eve with a look, but was quickly answered back.

"It's a former murderous warlord thing." Eve explained, and it took a second but Sarah finally acquiesced.

"So I guess tomorrow you'll be making plans to go back to Greece and stay with the Amazon's?" Sarah asked.

"Liu suggested I stay a few more days in his care just in case there is anymore Lao Ma's techniques can do for me, but I'm going to be sending you two out on the first boat to let the Amazon's know we are on our way."

"Both of us?" Sarah asked.

"Of course. Eve's obviously not doing so well travelling without a bodyguard and it's not exactly like you have anywhere else to go." Xena said. "Besides I have an idea about how to get you back home. It's possible that the stone I hid with the Amazon's is still in one of their caves, hidden safely. You may still have a chance to go back to the future."

Sarah's facial features pulled a complete 180. She hadn't even considered the idea of the stone still being safe with the amazons.

"Just strap me in the Delorian and call me Marty McFly!" She said with enthusiasm and was met with confused stares. "That means I'm in." She finished, reigning in her excitement.

"Ok, then we'd all better get some rest hadn't we?" Xena asked and was answered with nods. "Can one of you two find Gabrielle and tell her we're done here?"

"Of course." Eve answered and they both bid Xena good night as they exited the tent.

Once outside, a hand grasped Sarah's arm. She turned to see Liu holding on to her.

"Sarah, can I have a word with you?" He asked.

Sarah turned to look at Eve who said, "Don't worry, I'll find Gabrielle and send her back. Take your time."

"Um, do you want to take a walk around the camp or something?" She asked, "I think Xena and Gabrielle are gonna want some alone time."

"Yes that's fine." He said and they started off on a slow paced stroll. "I wanted to thank you for what you did back at the palace dungeon."

"You know I don't think I've ever received so much praise for things I'm not proud of doing." She said with irony peppering her voice. "I'm glad you're people are on their way to freedom from persecution Liu, but I have to say that it's come at great price. I've seen a lot of death the past few days and you were right when you said that I was asking to casually for war. I had no idea what it would be like."

"That was obvious." He said with a small, sad smile. "But Sarah, it had to be done. I see that now. Far less people will die from starvation now. Wealth and power will be distributed to people who are using it for a greater good. We aren't just winning the war with weapons; many of the emperor's soldiers were just as poor as the rebels. They are changing sides to fight for their own better futures. If things keep going the way they are now we will have only the nobles to fight, and they aren't so quick to put their lives on the line, no matter what the cause. This is looking to be a quick overthrow of power and the people of China owe a great deal of that to you."

Sarah allowed the words to inflate her ego only for a few seconds before she let the truth bring her back down to the ground.

"As much as I appreciate, and would truly like to take credit for what all's happening, it most likely would have happened anyway. I can see that now. The people look at you almost like a god, you were always meant to lead them through this. You would have found a way eventually, even if I'd never come along."

"No, you're wrong about that." He said stopping them in their tracks on a ridge that over looked the forest. "Right before you came to my cell that night I'd opened a vile of poison that I'd bought off one of the guards. I'd been planning it for months, but you interrupted me before I had a chance to take it and then you talked me into escaping and leading the rebellion. Believe what you want, but it's the truth. The people of China are free from the control of a cruel dictator because of you."

Sarah squinted out into the woods as if they would hold some kind of explanation as to what was going on. She found nothing.

"This isn't possible." She said quietly to herself. "It would mean I was always destined to come back."

"Excuse me?" Lui interrupted her thoughts.

"Nothing." She said. "I think I just need to sit down and rest for a while. You can go on back to the camp. I'll be fine here on my own. "

"I guess that's what I'll do then." He said, confused as he watched her sit and dangle her legs off the ledge. "You do understand that I was complementing you, right?"

Sarah chuckled. "I do. I'm sorry if I'm reacting poorly right now. I'm just…" she tried to find the right words then spoke them. "…very humbled."

"Then I'll leave you to your thoughts." He said as he headed back in to camp.

Sarah's eyes scanned over the forest as quickly as her mind raced through her thoughts. She tried to wrap her mind around the idea of the future being the way it was because of decisions she made now, but it was such a cyclical thought process that it merely succeeded in making her head hurt. She softly massaged her temple for a brief moment before taking one last look into the clearing.

It was then that she saw it: the tiger she'd fought in the cave, standing proudly on a rock, looking straight up at her. She couldn't believe it had actually survived the past few hours with all of the injuries they'd inflicted up on it, yet there it was. The irony of the situation then became clear. Neither one of them should have been there at all, yet they were.

Maybe there was a reason for it.

She swallowed and tipped an imaginary hat towards the tough bastard. She wished she had her fedora with her, but Eve had taken it with all of her stuff. So the gesture alone would have to do. And with a grunt worthy amount of pain, she got back to her feet and started to walk back to camp. Out of curiosity she looked back one more time to see the tiger, but it had already disappeared back into the forest.

"Hope your journey's less dangerous than mine." She said. "Because I'm about to have to deal with Amazons."

Then with a small chuckle and a new found goal she started walking.

Gabrielle pushed the extra cot in the tent next to Xena's then began to dress in her night shift before settling in. As she freed herself from the leather she wore during day and let the soft cotton slip over the curves of her body Xena couldn't help but stare.

"You know you're lucky I'm severely injured right now, otherwise the entire camp would know what you sound like in the throes of passion." She said seductively to the bard.

Gabrielle fired a mischievous smile in the direction of the warrior then quickly moved to get into the makeshift bed.

"Oh really, warrior princess?" The bard said.

"Definitely." Xena purred as she pulled her lover closer to her. "You know how much I can want you when the battle lust get's the better of me. And we just fought a war baby."

"Kind of like the last time we fought a war in Chin?" Gabrielle said, adding a quick kiss.

Xena chuckled. "Well that was one of our more intense sessions due to the fact that one battling bard was flirting a dashing male warrior. I had to make sure you didn't forget whose bed you belonged in that night."

"Oh please." Gabrielle countered playfully. "First off he was the one that started the flirting with me, and second of all, if I did flirt back in any way it was only to get you back for showing your goods off to Ares while you were confused about your dark side."

"Ugghh. Don't remind me. "Xena scowled.

"Well there certainly won't be any jealous romps tonight. You're leg's gonna have to have a couple more days healing before you can even think about jumping back into bedroom action." The bard joked.

Xena let a small smile cross her face, then it slowly faded. She tried to look as if she was preoccupied with getting comfortable in the bed, but Gabrielle noticed the lull in conversation.

"What is it?" She asked.

Instead of trying to shrug it off and having the conversation later, she decided to go ahead and let it out.

"Gabrielle, I think you know as well as I do that this is going to have at least a small effect in our bedroom forever, and an even larger effect on other aspects of life together. I'm sure I already know your answer, but are you sure you still want…"

"If you know the answer then why even bother to ask the question." Gabrielle said, stopping Xena mid sentence. "Let me put your mind at ease when I say that I still love you just as much today as I did yesterday. Even more if it's possible. This," She said, softly putting her hand on Xena's injured leg, "doesn't change anything as far as I'm concerned. In fact it'll just make certain aspects of our life all the more interesting."

The last part was said with a sexy smirk as the bard leaned in to kiss the warrior. She stroked her face softly as she explored her mouth. The kiss was passionate, but at the same time comforting. She wanted to convey her love and devotion for Xena, but knew things didn't need to get too heated. When they broke off she laid her head down on the warrior's shoulder and put an arm around her mid section.

"It's really going to happen isn't it, Xena? We're going to have a bed to sleep in every night and a room to keep all of our stuff. We won't have to wonder where we're going to sleep or if we'll be ambushed in the middle of the night…" The bard's heart was so full from thinking about their future together, but then a small kernel of doubt invaded her mind. "Are you going to be ok with that, Xena? I mean really ok?"

"Of course, Gabrielle. We'd planned to do that before I smashed my knee, you know that." Xena said.

"I know, but that was a choice we made. You would have always known you could walk away if you wanted to. You might not have felt so tied down." The bard said.

"Gabrielle I could never feel tied down with you." Xena said as she stroked the bard's hair. "You're the only person on this Earth that makes me feel free to be who I am. You've seen all the darkness in me and you've never run away from it. I don't think you even come close to understanding what you've done for me." She paused, to kiss Gabrielle's head, trying to find the right words to describe how she felt. Then finally she did. "Your love justifies my existence Gabrielle. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it's all I could ever need."

Gabrielle rose up so she could look Xena in the eyes and stroke her face as she spoke.

"Do you want to know something ironic about that?" She asked, without actually waiting for an answer. "I don't think I could love anyone else because of that very fact. I know you say that I make you feel free to be who you are, but you have to know that you do the same for me. You've watched me go through a lot of growth during the years we've been together, and I'm sure you've noticed that I don't pull any punches when it comes to what I feel. It's like I can't contain it; I just have to act and let it all out. A lot of people can't handle that, it annoys them. But you let me be me, and you love me for it. Don't think you're the only lucky one Xena, because you're not."

"I don't think many people are this lucky, Gabrielle. " Xena said. "So if you're asking me if living the rest of my life with a love this special will be too boring, I think you know what my answer will be. I may have lost a large part of my life today, but I don't think I could be happier than I am at this moment."

With that the bard let a lone tear fall, and she kissed her injured warrior. She knew that no matter what reassurances they gave each other tonight, there would still be ups and downs in the future. But she knew that they would be able to face whatever may come their way together. Nobody really gets a happy ending; it's all the imperfections in people that make the right ones fit together so nicely.

Sunshine and sea air never looked better to the two women stowing their belongings away on the Chinese boat bound for Greece. They had both been through so much in such a short period of time that finally finding the light at the end of the tunnel made everything just a little bit sweeter. Their accommodations were meager; just a small room with bunk beds and little room to move, but it didn't even occur to either one of them to have better. They were both going home in a sense. Sarah, in search of the stone, and Eve to the new home of her mothers.

They still had a few moments before the boat took off so they exited to say their last goodbyes to Xena, Gabrielle, and Rada. The Slav had told them the night before that she'd planned on venturing back home to see her family. She'd missed them a great deal during her captivity and getting back was all that was on her mind. All three women stood next to each other as they waited to send them off. Eve barreled toward Xena and Gabrielle, hugging them both fiercely, as Sarah strolled over to Rada.

"You two take care of each other until I see you again." Eve said before breaking off.

"Ah, you know us," Gabrielle said. "We like to avoid trouble at all costs."

Eve laughed knowingly and nodded in affirmation.

"I'll never be able to repay you for all the times you've saved me." She said

"You repay us every time we get to see you smile." Xena said as she hugged Gabrielle to her.

"Then I'll try to do it as often as possible." Eve said, leaning in for one more hug before she had to break off and get back on the boat.

Meanwhile Sarah had made her way over to the new friend that she was sad to separate from.

"So you sure you wanna go home and see your folks now?" She said jokingly to the Slav. "I mean really, who are you gonna have more fun with; me or them?"

Rada let out a small chuckle and gave Sarah a soft punch to the shoulder.

"You know it's tempting, but you tend to attract trouble from what I've seen." She answered.

"Exactly." Sarah said "We'll kick some ass, drink some booze, and fuck some Amazons. How much better could life get?"

"I'll leave that to you for now. But something tells me it's gonna be more like you getting your ass kicked by Amazons after they've had too much to drink because you got caught watching them fuck."

"Well that'll be fun too." Sarah said and then held her hand up to punch Rada's before grabbing her in a frat boy hug. "If you get bored at home come find me. I don't plan on leaving right away and I have a feeling I'm gonna miss having somebody around to help me make fun of Eve." She said before breaking off.

"Me and you: we are like this." Rada said, moving her hand between their eyes as if to say they saw things the same way.

Sarah clapped her on the shoulder and saw that Eve was done with her goodbyes to Xena and Gabrielle and moved over to say her own.

"Rada." Eve said as she held out her hand.

"Eve." Rada said, before grasping the hand and kissing it. Then before she let go, pulled the messenger to her and kissed her full on the lips. Eve quickly fought off the forced affections, but Rada held on for a few seconds before letting go. Xena was ready to pounce, but it was over before she had a chance.

"Ugghh. You brute!" Eve exclaimed. "If I weren't a pacifist I'd slap you hard across the face right now."

"Sure, baby," Rada said with a laugh. "You just keep telling yourself that."

Sarah smiled and moved over to say goodbye to Xena and Gabrielle.

"Well I guess this is it for a little while." She said, not knowing exactly where things stood between them after all that had happened. "You guys sure you're going to be ok here by yourselves?"

Both warrior and bard raised their eyebrows as if Sarah had gone completely insane.

"Yeah, I guess that was a stupid question." The girl said. She looked down at the ground and rubbed the sweat off the back of her neck.

"C'mere and give us a hug Sarah." Xena said. "You know you want to you big softie."

Sarah smirked and hugged Xena close.

"Sorry I fucked things up so much." She said.

"Just goes to show how closely related we really are." Xena said as she pulled away with a smile and settled on to her crutch.

Sarah then moved on to Gabrielle, the bard hugged her tight.

"I know you think you're alone here, Sarah, but you're not." She whispered in the girl's ear. "You've made quite a few friends here, especially the one you're about to get on that boat with."

Gabrielle gave her one last squeeze then let go.

"Take care of her." She said to Sarah.

The time traveler nodded and stepped back to stand next to Eve. At that moment one of the boatmen announced that the ship was about to sail and Sarah wrapped an arm around Eve's shoulders.

"C'mon, bunk mate. Let's board before they leave us behind." They both waved one last time before turning to get on the ship when suddenly a voice started calling out from behind them.

They turned back and saw a young boy and his mother rushing through Xena, Gabrielle and Rada. They came right up to Sarah and gave an out of breath bow. Though she was incredibly confused, she bowed back.

"My name is Chan Po and this is my mother. I fought with you near the ravine." He said, catching his breath. "You saved my life."

"I'm glad." Sarah said, not knowing exactly what the proper response for something like that was.

"When they brought you in from fighting the tiger I came to see you, but you were asleep." He said. "I saw the big stick you carry around sitting in the corner, and I noticed it had a tiger fang in it. I wanted to thank you for what you did, so I took it and made this."

He held up a necklace. The chain was made of black leather and the charm was indeed the tiger fang. A small hole had been drilled in the center, and filled in with a polished piece of jade. Sarah couldn't say anything; she was incredibly touched by the gesture.

"They said the tiger was so strong it survived against you and the great warrior Xena." He said, as if trying to dignify the gift even more. "If the tiger's spirit is that strong maybe wearing a part of it will enhance your own."

Sarah took the necklace and put it around her neck, then tightened it until the tooth dangled against the hollow at the bottom of her throat. When she was finished she fingered the tooth and looked back up.

"This is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received." She said then bowed. "Thank you."

He bowed back and smiled then his mother bowed and urged him to leave with her. Once they were gone Sarah noticed everyone was staring at her and turned red from the attention.

"Ok, let's go." She said to Eve and they turned to board the boat once more.

"Looks like you didn't 'fuck' things up too bad." Eve said, struggling with the unfamiliar word.

Sarah looked at her with shock.

"Do you have any idea what you just said?" She asked the messenger.

"Not really, but it seemed to be in the right context. Was it not?" She asked.

"Nope, that was the perfect use of that phrase Eve." Sarah said, putting her arm around her shoulders again as they stepped onto the bow. "You should use it more often."

And with that they set off on a new journey for both of them.

The End

To be continued in Book 2 of the "Living in the Past" series.


End file.
